No. 7 FSU Softball drops game two to No. 15 Duke

Mar 25, 2023 - 7:45 PM

After taking game one yesterday against the Duke Blue Devils, Florida State softball continued their Durham road series against the ACC foe.

In the first inning, both Cassidy Curd for Duke and Allison Royalty for FSU, produced 1-2-3 innings. And after Curd kept the ‘Noles off the bases in the 2nd, Royalty struggled a bit more. A one out single and stolen base had a runner in scoring position for Duke, and the walk had two on. A fielder’s choice followed by a hit by pitch loaded the bases for the home team, but Royalty got the fly out to keep it scoreless.

Royalty found herself in a tough situation yet again in the 3rd, after a lead off hit by pitch. But a ground ball covered by her infield defense helped erase the runner and eventually get out of the inning.

In the 4th, it was Duke who struck first. After yet another inning facing the minimum from Curd, Duke’s offense started off with a one out walk. After Royalty got a ground out for the second out, Aminah Vega homered off the Seminoles starter. A single and walk were left unsecured, but Duke took a 2-0 advantage.

Looking to bounce back in the 5th, the ‘Noles started off with a one out double from Jahni Kerr. Duke opted to give the free pass to Michaela Edenfield after a fly out, putting two on with two outs. In the pinch hit role, Amaya Ross struck out swinging to end the inning.

For the Duke 5th, Ali DuBois entered in relief of Royalty. DuBois only gave up one single before giving the offense back to her team for the 6th inning.

In the top of 6th, Kaley Mudge led off with a homerun off of Curd. But for the ‘Noles, that was the only run that would score. Curd gave up a walk to Hallie Wacaser, but the offense left her on base. FSU was able to cut into the lead 2-1.

For the bottom of the 6th, the Blue Devils led off with a single, and advanced the pinch runner to third on a one out single. A stolen base had two runners within 120 feet of home base, but a line out to Krystina Hartley, and strike out from Makenna Reid who entered with two outs, kept it a one run game.

With the Duke lead in the 7th, the ‘Noles were down to their final three outs. Jahni Kerr led off with a single back up the middle to help her team in the final chances. A deep fly out with solid Duke defense had the first out on the board. A fly out and ground out ended the game for Florida State, falling to No. 15 Duke 2-1.

Up Next

The rubber match will be Sunday March 26th at 12 pm EST on ACCNX.