Coming off of a national championship, it can be hard for teams to fulfill expectations. Do not tell that to the Florida State softball team, who have so far, picked up right they left off in 2018 .
No. 1 FSU has opened 2019 by going 17-0 in the month of February and is currently riding a 23-game winning streak dating back to last season.
The first month of the season generally gives teams an opportunity to find out what their strengths and weaknesses are. Florida State showed head coach Lonni Alameda that she has a lot of strengths and no glaring weaknesses.
The Seminoles’ offense was explosive all month. As a team, FSU is first in the country in home runs with 33, second in slugging (.733) and third when it comes to team batting average (.408) and runs scored per game (9.08).
The pitching staff held its own also, only allowing 20 earned runs in 104 innings pitched compared to the 137 the FSU offense has scored. The Seminoles are currently carrying a team earned run average of 1.35 and are only allowing opponents to hit .193 off of them.
Individual leaders
Cali Harrod leads the team offensively hitting a staggering .563 with 24 runs scored, five extra-base hits and four home runs. Harrod has stolen 14 bases in 17 games and has driven in 14 runs. The senior shortstop is making a strong case for ACC Player of the Year.
Sydney Sherrill is right behind Harrod hitting .477 in 44 plate appearances. Sherrill has crossed the plate 20 times and has five extra-base hits; she also leads the team with six home runs and is tied with Cassidy Davis for the team lead in runs driven in with 21, which is ninth best in the country. Davis, Zoe Casas and Elizabeth Mason give FSU five players hitting at least .400 for the season.
Meghan King continues to shine in the circle, which should not come as a surprise to anyone. King is 8-0 on the season with an ERA of 0.79. King has made nine appearances on the season, seven of which were starts for the redshirt senior. In those nine outings, King has thrown four complete games, only walking 10 batters while striking out 56. Opponents are swinging it at just a .149 clip while facing King.
Kathryn Sandercock is a freshman from McLean, Virginia, but has made herself right at home at Florida State. She has started her career off with a perfect 7-0 record. Sandercock has thrown 32 innings for the Seminoles and carries a 1.31 ERA. The former Gatorade Player of the Year has one complete game and has sat down 19 batters by way of the strikeout.
500-Win Club
In just her 11th season, head coach Lonni Alameda captured win No. 500 with a 13-1 victory over Samford on Sunday. Alameda now has a record of 500-150-1 at Florida State, which is nothing short of absurd. Alameda’s winning percentage is currently at .769 as a Seminole and she has won at least 50 games in each of the last three seasons.
Florida State will pack its bags for the next 10 match-ups, starting in Orlando with UCF’s Invitational Tournament. Following that, the Seminoles will travel to Arizona to take on Grand Canyon University and the University of Arizona. FSU comes home to open up conference play in the middle of the month against Notre Dame mirziamov.ru.
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