The Daily Nole

FSU Softball: Tallahassee Super Regional Match-Up Analysis

Phil Kelly/FSU athletics

For the second straight season, LSU will invade Tallahassee for a best-of-three NCAA Super Regional. After dropping the first game last season, the Tigers won the final two at JoAnn Graf Field to stun Florida State and advance to the Women’s College World Series.

FSU is in the Super Regional round for a sixth straight year. LSU is here for a fourth straight year and has reached the Women’s College World Series in each of the last three. The Super Regional gets underway on Friday.

How They Got Here

Florida State captured yet another regular season ACC title before winning a fifth straight ACC Tournament title in dramatic fashion. The Seminoles (50-10) scored four runs in the seventh inning to top Pittsburgh on May 12 to earn an automatic bid and the ACC crown. That’s also likely the reason the Seminoles were granted the No. 6 national seed.

FSU went a perfect 3-0 in the Tallahassee Regional, outscoring opponents by a combined 20-1 score. The closest contest was a 2-1 victory over Auburn in eight innings in which Carsyn Gordon ended the contest with an inside-the-park home run. FSU won two contests over Jacksonville State by scores of 8-0 and 10-0.

LSU (44-15) earned an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament and the No. 11 national seed. The Tigers were eliminated by Tennessee in the SEC Tournament by a 1-0 score. In the Baton Rouge Regional, LSU was defeated by Louisiana-Lafayette after winning the first two games over Fordham and Houston. The Tigers topped the Ragin’ Cajuns in a winner-take-all game last Sunday, 3-1.

Statistical Breakdown

Statistically, Florida State fares a lot better than LSU, but it should be noted that the SEC is a much better softball conference than the ACC. When it comes to pitching and defense, the Seminoles and Tigers are among the nation’s best.

The only offensive statistical category where the Seminoles rank outside the top 25 nationally is batting average. The offensive category where LSU ranks best is in stolen bases. The Tigers are outside of the top 110 nationally in all other statistical offensive areas.

Offense

There’s been no shortage of offense this season for Florida State as five different players are hitting at least .280 and three better than .300. Senior and 2-time ACC Player of the Year, Jessie Warren, leads the team with a .395 batting average, 16 home runs and 58 RBIs.

Sydney Sherrill, the ACC Freshman of the Year and ACC Tournament MVP, and Carsyn Gordon have each homered 10 times. Sherrill’s 26 doubles is an FSU record and leads the country. Sherrill is hitting .392 while Gordon, a junior first baseman, is hitting .337. The two have combined for 98 RBIs.

LSU’s Aliyah Andrews, a sophomore, has been the table setter for the Tigers all season with a .328 batting average and 42 stolen bases, which ranks 11th nationally. Amanda Doyle, a sophomore infielder, is hitting .326 and has supplied the power. Her seven home runs is tied for the team lead and her 48 RBIs leads the team. Michaela Schlattman has also homered seven times for the Tigers.

Defense

Both Florida State and LSU rank in the top 25 nationally in ERA and fielding percentage. On the left side of the FSU infield, Warren and shortstop Cali Harrod are very good defensively. For LSU, Andrews was named a member of the SEC’s All-Defensive team.

In the circle, the Seminoles possess one of the best one-two punches in the country with ACC Pitcher of the Year, Kylee Hanson, and All-ACC junior performer Meghan King. After a rough ACC Tournament, Hanson was virtually unhittable in the Tallahassee Regional, which opened with her throwing a 5-inning no-hitter.

For the year, Hanson is 27-4 with an ERA of 1.00 and 226 strikeouts in 182 innings of work. King is less of a power pitcher, boasting a 21-6 record and 1.24 ERA.

The name to know for LSU is All-SEC senior Allie Walljasper. Walljasper is 18-6 this season with an 0.94 ERA. Carley Hoover is also in the midst of a solid season with a 16-6 record and a 1.39 ERA. Cassidy Davis for FSU and Maribeth Gorsuch for the Tigers are both viable third options.

vs. Common Opponents

Against common opponents this season, Florida State was 6-4 while LSU was 8-4. The Seminoles split a pair of games with No. 1 national seed Oregon this year while the Tigers lost their only meeting in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.

During the Tallahassee Regional, FSU topped an Auburn team that LSU was 3-0 against. While Auburn was 0-4 against the Seminoles and LSU, all four losses came by a single run and two in extra innings.

LSU was a perfect 2-0 against McNeese State, but FSU lost the only match-up. Against South Alabama, LSU was 2-0 while FSU was just 1-1. FSU split a pair of contests with rival Florida while the Tigers dropped two of three to the Gators.

Against Louisiana-Lafayette, the Seminoles were a perfect 2-0. LSU split two contests with the Ragin’ Cajuns during last weekend’s Baton Rouge Super Regional.

Schedule

Game 1: Friday at 7 p.m. EST (ESPNU)
Game 2: Saturday at 5 p.m. EST (ESPN2)
Game 3: Sunday at 3 p.m. EST (ESPNU, if necessary)

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson

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