Ehsan KassimTallahassee Democrat
The Florida State softball team has turned into road warriors.
The No. 4 Seminoles (39-8, 16-2 ACC) polished off another road ACC sweep with a run-rule victory Saturday at No. 22 Virginia Tech.
FSU has played the majority of its toughest ACC competition on the road this season, including a series sweep of then No. 4 Clemson in the first weekend of April.
Overall, the Seminoles are 10-4 on the road this season and 8-1 on the road in conference play.
FSU started the season with three road losses in its first four games with tough matchups against Oklahoma State (1-2) and Oklahoma (0-1).
Florida State is ready to return home as the regular season winds down.
It hosts rival No. 14 Florida at 6 p.m. Wednesday at JoAnne Graf Field for the first of a two-game weekday schedule between the two programs.
The Seminoles then travel to Notre Dame for their final road series, before playing the Gators again on May 3 and then wrapping up the regular season at home against Louisville (May 5-7).
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FSU vs. Florida
When:Wednesday, 6 p.m.; JoAnne Graf Field
Where:JoAnne Graf Field
TV/Rado: ACC Network Extra/96.5 FM
Records:FSU, 39-8; Florida, 32-13
Scouting Florida:Skylar Wallace continues to be a force in the Gators lineup. She is batting .481 on the season with 15 home runs, 47 RBI and is 27-for-28 in stolen base attempts. ... Charla Echols is leading UF in doubles (12) and RBI (50), providing another dangerous bat. ... Elizabeth Hightower has been the main pitcher for UF with a 3.05 ERA in 108 innings. Rylee Trlicek (79 innings) has a 2.57 ERA and Lexie Delbrey (64 ⅔) has a 2.71 ERA as the main pitchers behind Hightower.
UF-FSU history: The Seminoles have won three straight games against the Gators by a combined score of 13-4, but UF leads the all-time series 28-20. ... FSU won both games against their rival last season, including a 2-1 win in Tallahassee when Kathryn Sanderco*ck outdueled Hightower in a 2-1 victory and Jahni Kerr hit a walk-off home run.
FSU notes: Sanderco*ckbecame the school record holder for saves with six this season after being credited with a save in Friday's comeback victory. The save also made her the career record holder with 14 total. ... Sanderco*ck also owns a 16-3 record with a 1.10 ERA with 69 strikeouts in 114 ⅔ innings. ... Freshman Makenna Reid leads the team with a 0.93 ERA in 52 ⅔ innings with 67 strikeouts. ... Krystina Hartley and Kerr are tied for the team-lead with a 3.48 average. Katie Dack leads the team with 10 home runs and Michaela Edenfield paces the team with 39 RBI.
Makenna Reid earns first ACC Pitcher of the Week award
Florida State softball freshman pitcher Makenna Reid picked up her first career ACC Pitcher of the Week award on Tuesday morning. Reid was named the ACC Co-Pitcher of the Week by the conference.
This is the third time a Seminole has won the ACC Pitcher of the Week award this season as Kathryn Sanderco*ck won the award on Mar. 28 and Apr. 11.
Reid is the first Florida State true freshman to win an ACC Pitcher of the Week award since Lacey Waldrop in 2012.
Reid continued her dominating freshman season this past week as she picked up two wins and a save in three appearances for the Seminoles. In 9 ⅓ innings pitched, Reid did not give up an earned run and only allowed six hits.
In the second game of the series against No. 22 Virginia Tech, Reid pitched a career-high 4 ⅔ innings and allowed just three hits against a powerful offense. Reid has given up just seven earned runs all season with all of those runs coming against teams ranked in the top 10 of the USA Softball/ESPN.com top 25 poll.
In ACC play, Reid has allowed just one earned run in 24 innings for a staggering 0.29 ERA in conference play.
-- FSU Sports Information
Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).
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