Softball’s Battle with Florida State Falls Short

Sunday, February 17

Clearwater, Fla.

4 PM

Florida Atlantic

3-7

No. 1/2 Florida State

10-0

Florida State

Florida Atlantic

2/17/2019 8:00:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

CLEARWATER, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University softball team (3-7) gave No. 1/2 Florida State a run for its money but fell short in a 10-5 loss. Going into day three of the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational, the Owls captured six hits over four games, but managed 11 in Sunday night's contest.

Quotable:
"We played the number one team in the country and they have been run-ruling everybody, but we made it a 6-4 game going into the sixth inning," said Head Coach Joan Joyce. "Overall, we were hitting the ball really well and that's how I expected my team to go out in the beginning of the year."

Key Plays:
Florida State could not score in the first inning like they have been able to all season, but in the top of the third, the Seminoles got on the board off an RBI double in center field by Sidney Sherrill. The Owls would respond in the bottom of the fourth inning thanks to Lauren Whitt's single up the middle to send Kelsey Morrison home. The tie score would not last for long, as FSU's Zoe Casas homered in right field to recapture the lead, 3-1. FSU scored three more runs in the top of the sixth inning off RBIs from Elizabeth Mason and Casas, but then Jolie Duffner hammered a triple to score in Olson to get things started in the bottom of the sixth inning. Later in the inning, Madisyn Palmer singled to left field to send home Duffner and Whitt to make it a 6-4 ballgame. After a pair of errors in the top of the seventh inning, the Seminoles added four runs, extending their lead 10-4. In the bottom of the seventh, Mia Olson captured her second home run of the weekend, but that was all the Owls could salvage in the 10-5 loss.

Notables:

Several players captured multiple hits in the game, including Ashleigh Jennings, Fayth Dais, Olson, Duffner and Whitt
Olson captured her second homerun of the weekend and on the season
Morrison, Whitt and Duffner each had a run in the contest, and Olson captured two
Olson pitched 5.2 innings, allowing just four earned runs

Up Next:
The Owls will face Stetson in a doubleheader on Friday in Clermont, Florida, with games being played at 2 and 4 p.m. FAU will finish out the weekend at FAU Softball Stadium as the host of the Strike Out Cancer Tournament. On Saturday, the Owls will face Florida Gulf Coast at 2 p.m. and UConn at 4:30 p.m. Follow along on Twitter (@fauowlssoftball) or access the live stats here.