In front of the largest postseason crowd in JoAnne Graf Field history, the second-seeded Florida State Seminoles (53-5) took down Howard (31-23), 8-0 behind a no-hitter from Danielle Watson.
The Seminole’s no-hitter was the 31st under head coach Lonni Alameda and the second this season. It was the second no-hitter that Watson has been a part of at FSU as she was a part of the Seminoles’ no-hitter against Boston College last March.
Florida State got on the board early with one run in the first inning. Kaley Mudge led off with a double to left-center. The Noles then proceeded to load the bases with one out. Jahni Kerr then worked a five-pitch walk to score Mudge from third.
The Seminoles extended their lead to four runs in the fourth inning after scoring three on just one hit. Devyn Flaherty got hit by a pitch in the lead-off position and then got all the way to third after stealing two bases. Jahni Kerr then singled to right-center to score Flaherty. A stolen base and a wild pitch put Kerr on third before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Chloe Culp. A Josie Muffley sac fly scored D’Aun Riggs who came in as a pinch-runner for Michaela Edenfield who reach base by a walk.
FSU capped off the game with four runs in the fifth inning to run-rule the Bison. Sydney Sherrill and Kalei Harding led off the inning with a pair of walks before Mack Leonard doubled to right field to make it 5-0. Kerr then hit another sac fly for her third RBI of the game to make it 6-0.
A Michaela Edenfield single to left-center put the Noles one run away from moving on in the winner’s bracket. Chloe Culp capped off the night with a single through the left side to score Edenfield.
Courtesy: Florida State Athletics
