Florida State catcher Anna Shelnutt overcame a disastrous sixth inning in the field to become the hero at the plate.
With FSU (47-10) down to its last out and trailing 4-2 in the bottom of the seventh, Shelnutt blasted a 3-run home run over the left field wall to propel the top-seeded Seminoles to a come-from-behind victory over second-seeded Pittsburgh and a fifth straight ACC Tournament title, 5-4.
Florida State scored four runs in the final frame and five over the last two after falling behind 4-0 during Saturday’s ACC Championship in Atlanta. After five scoreless innings, the Panthers broke through with four runs during what was a disastrous defensive sixth inning for FSU.
Hunter Levesque broke the scoreless tie with an RBI single in the frame to make it 1-0. FSU second baseman Sydney Sherrill’s second error of the day on an errant throw home allowed the Panthers to double their lead. Levesque and Kaitlyn Kruger came around to score on a wild pitch and passed ball, respectively. Shelnutt was responsible for two passed balls in the inning and made a mental error by fielding a ball for an infield single that probably would have rolled foul.
The Seminoles finally broke through offensively in the sixth as Jessie Warren came through with an RBI single. Carsyn Gordon came to the plate as the tying run following the Warren single, but popped out to end the threat. FSU added its second run on an RBI groundout by Cali Harrod in the seventh, just before Shelnutt ended the game.
Warren had three of the 10 hits for FSU while Shelnutt and Sherrill each added a pair. Meghan King worked 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win. Pittsburgh’s Kayla Harris took the loss.
Florida State’s win streak in the ACC Tournament is now 15. This was just the second time during that streak and the first since last year’s title game against North Carolina that the Seminoles won by a single run. FSU trailed in each of their three victories during the conference tournament in Atlanta.
The NCAA Selection Show will take place on Sunday, where both the Seminoles and Panthers (33-18-1) will find out their NCAA Tournament fates. FSU, an automatic qualifier, is expected to host a regional and could be in line for a top-8 national seed. Pittsburgh is considered to be squarely on the bubble.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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