Florida State softball's bats repaid perfect pitching in NCAA Super Regional opening victory

On Sunday, Kat Sandercock's perfect pitching was the talk of Florida State softball's NCAA Regional clinching victory over South Carolina.

Thursday told a different story as the No. 3 Seminoles' (54-9) bats were the leading charge of beating No. 14 Georgia (42-14) 8-1 in Game 1 of the NCAA Super Regional before a crowd of 2,006 at JoAnne Graf Field.

It was the third-largest attendance in school history.

Led by Kaley Mudge's three hits and three RBI, nine of FSU's hits led to eight runs for the Seminoles. This was after FSU scored a lone run in its last two games against South Carolina in the NCAA Regionals.

The offensive showing gives Seminoles head coach Lonni Alameda a sense of comfort entering Friday's Game 2 in the best-of-three series at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

"I think it was just having quality at-bats and sticking to our plan," Alameda said. "Sometimes it's really hard to rely on one part of your game, so you've got to be able to have different tools.

"When you can win in different ways and you're okay coming out and supporting your team in whatever it is, just being present ― that's been the whole thing for us all here.

"Pretty excited about what we can do [Friday] and make the adjustments from the information we got today."

Trailing 1-0 at the bottom of the third inning, the Seminoles scored four runs. Then, the Seminoles matched that output in the fifth inning.

That would be the difference of the game as FSU received an extra jolt from the crowd.

"We were playing a little nervous in the beginning," Alameda said. "Once we started swinging, you could feel that nervous energy go away. You could feel the energy from the crowd.

"It's super cool, as a coach to sit back and see these guys enjoy those moments and have fun with them on a huge stage."

Georgia head coach Tony Baldwin credited FSU's offense for shifting the game's momentum.

"From the dugout, it just didn't look like we were making quality enough pitches to slow them down," Baldwin said. "Once they get you in the cement mixer where it's just going round and round and round, it's tough to get it stopped. They were putting together a lot of quality at-bats.

"They run the bases really well, and again that's the game of softball."

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Mudge led the Seminoles at the plate.

She was the first batter that was able to get FSU on the board with a RBI double scored by Josie Muffley to knot the game at a run apiece in the third inning.

"Postseason softball is so fun because it's everybody's best every single pitch," Mudge said. "I was just trying to get those runs across for the team. When I take myself out of trying to be big and just try to do something for the team is usually when I'm at my best."

Sandercock threw 63 pitches for the Seminoles in 5.2 innings, but only allowed one run in the second inning. She also made her 179th appearance in the circle, matching Leslie Malerich’s record for the most pitching appearances in program history.

Ali DuBois came in relief for Sandercock and shut down Georgia, fanning three of five hitters.

Sandercock said FSU's offense helped her relax in the circle and focus on throwing strikes.

"It's a totally different feeling coming back on the field with a couple of runs on the board," Sandercock said. "It just kind of allowed everyone to exhale and relax a little bit. I'm just doing my best to get my team back in the dugout so we can swing the bat."

Georgia's pitchers ― Madison Kerpics, Shelby Walters, and Kylie Macy combined for 105 pitches.

That could prove valuable for FSU batters in Friday's game.

"That was huge to make their pitchers throw pitchers," Mudge said. "We were able to see both of their ace pitchers, so I think we learned a lot of information and it's definitely huge for us hitters [Friday].

"Postseason softball is so fun because it's everybody's best every single pitch. It's definitely going to be a fight."

Gerald Thomas, III covers Florida A&M University Athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at gdthomas@gannett.com or on Twitter @3peatgee.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU Softball: Hot batting leads Seminoles to NCAA Super Regional win of UGA