Florida State softball season ends after dropping back-to-back games to Mississippi State

Another Florida State softball comeback appeared to be in the works.

With her team trailing Mississippi State 4-3 in the bottom of the fifth inning, Jahni Kerr singled up the middle and advanced Devyn Flaherty from first to third base. And as Flaherty beat the throw to third, Kerr reached second.

The play gave the Seminoles two runners in scoring position with one out. At least until the umpires determined that Flaherty left first base before Bulldog pitcher Annie Willis released the ball. The ruling resulted in Flaherty being called out and Kerr returning to the batter’s box for a do-over.

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Kerr still singled anyway. But with Flaherty in scoring position, FSU would have tied the game on Michaela Edenfield’s ensuing single. The Seminoles instead went scoreless and stranded Edenfield and Kerr on first and second base, respectively, after a strikeout from Chloe Culp ended the inning.

Missed opportunities like that sequence were a theme for one-seed FSU (54-7) in its stunning 4-3 loss to two-seed MSU (36-25) in game two of the Tallahassee Regional Final on Sunday. The Seminoles were eliminated from the postseason with the loss after falling 5-0 to the Bulldogs earlier that day.

“That was a momentum killer for us for sure,” FSU head coach Lonni Alameda. “There are small opportunities in games like this to take advantage of stuff. So when those keep getting taken away, you can definitely feel like things are deflating.”

The closer calls never seemed to go in the Seminoles’ favor. The umpires ruled Flaherty out for the same reason in the third inning. In the seventh inning, they declared Mack Leonard safe on an infield single before reversing their ruling.

Untimely hitting also plagued the FSU offense. The Seminoles finished 3 of 15 (.200) and 1 of 4 (.250) with runners on base and in scoring position, respectively, while leaving nine on base.

“We haven’t had a review here at our facility this year,” Alameda said. “So we haven’t had the chance to really be a part of that. We had it at the ACC Tournament, and I think Georgia Tech was the other place that we had it. So definitely something new for us.

“I don’t know. I’ll have to go back and watch the video. But I think we’ve been called out one other time (for leaving early) this season. If things weren’t going our way, if that was the case, it’s something we need to watch.

“But again, a game of inches. Leaving the base early or Mack being safe, game of inches. We talk about it all the time. It’s tough sometimes when the inches don’t go your way.”

To start the weekend, FSU looked like the team that won the ACC Championship and earned its highest national seed ever at No. 2 overall. The Seminoles cruised to victories over Howard and South Florida in run-rule fashion.

Losing game one to MSU snapped FSU’s 24-game winning streak in NCAA Regionals, the longest nationally. Falling in game two to the Bulldogs gave the Seminoles their first one-run loss this season after they started 11-0.

Dropping both games means FSU won’t advance to the Super Regional stage of the postseason for the first time since 2012. MSU will play in its first Super Regional in program history against the University of Arizona next weekend.

“It's not on the umpire,” Alameda said. “It was in our hands, and in our capabilities, so this game wasn't anything about the umpire by any means. It's still about, I think, the ball bounces one way or the other. And it didn’t for us today.”

Mississippi State wins game two on three-run fifth inning

Danielle Watson had been dominant all weekend.

The FSU senior pitcher threw a no-hitter against Howard and surrendered just one run on three hits through her first four innings in game two against MSU. But the Seminoles replaced Watson with Kathryn Sandercock after she allowed two singles to start the fifth inning while leading 3-1.

The Bulldogs benefited from that change. Catcher Mia Davidson drew a walk to load the bases before second baseman Shea Moreno and outfielder Chloe Malau’ulu recorded back-to-back singles. Moreno scored first baseman Riley Hull, while Malau’ulu advanced center fielder Brylie St. Clair and Davidson home.

“She has just been hot. She's been hot all the time,” said Davidson of Malau’ulu. “You can always put any pressure on Chloe, and she’s going to get it done. She's one heck of a ball player, and you just know she's going to get it done no matter what. She's amazing.”

A triple from leadoff hitter Kaley Mudge and third baseman Sydney Sherrill’s subsequent homer offered FSU a 2-0 lead to begin the bottom of the first inning. MSU cut the deficit to 2-1 on a sacrifice fly from Matalisi Faapito, which scored Malau’ulu in the second.

Mudge brought the Seminoles ahead by two runs again on an RBI double in the second, scoring shortstop Josie Muffley. Then the Bulldogs rallied three innings later.

“We had an incredible run,” Alameda said. “A lot of historic moments, some incredible come from behind (wins). Different people. It was just, you look at your body of work, it’s something you can fall back on, but you still have to execute this time of year. And you can see that.

“The biggest thing is, when you put your head on your pillow at night, you know you did your all and I definitely think that this team did that. They gave us a lot this year. So I’m really proud of them.”

Seminoles drop game one to the Bulldogs

FSU's offense struggled in its 5-0 loss to MSU in game one of the Tallahassee Regional Final on Sunday.

The Seminoles finished 2 of 25 (.080) after hitting a combined 15 of 41 (.366) with nine walks in its first two games against Howard and South Florida. They also batted 0 of 10 and 0 of 6 with runners on base and in scoring position, respectively.

Junior Aspen Wesley (9-7) pitched all seven innings for MSU, surrendering just three baserunners while tallying three strikeouts. FSU starting pitcher Kathryn Sandercock lasted four innings, allowing two runs on three hits and a pair of walks. Emma Wilson replaced Sandercock for two innings of relief, yielding three runs on two hits and three walks.

Davidson, the SEC’s all-time leader in career home runs, started the scoring in the third with a homer over the left-field wall. Paige Cook added another run that inning, sending fellow junior infielder Shea Moreno home on a groundout.

A three-run sixth inning from the Bulldogs blew the game open. They first scored on a single from Jackie McKenna, which brought home fellow senior outfielder Chloe Malau’ulu from third.

Then Cook advanced home on a bases-loaded walk from junior infielder Madisyn Kennedy. Hull ended the three-run flurry, scoring McKenna on a sacrifice fly.

Reach Carter Karels at ckarels@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @CarterKarels.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU softball loses twice to Mississippi State to end season