Florida State’s NCAA tournament opener took an unexpected turn Friday as Stetson upset the Seminoles 8-3 at Joanne Graf Field, putting the host team on the brink of elimination.
FSU, which did not anticipate an early challenge in the Tallahassee Regional, now drops into the loser’s bracket and will face the loser of the UCF–Jacksonville State game on Saturday in an elimination contest at 2:30 p.m..
The Seminoles (seven hits) struggled to contain Stetson’s offense, allowing seven runs on 12 hits and committing an error. The Hatters set the tone early, jumping ahead 2-0 on a two-run home run before adding another blast in a three-run inning to take control.
Jazzy Francik surrendered both home runs and was lifted after 5 1/3 innings with FSU trailing 5-1. She finished with five strikeouts. Ashtyn Danley provided a brief spark in relief, hitting a two-run homer to cut the deficit to two, but Stetson quickly responded with two more runs to extend the lead to 7-3.
Florida State’s offense stalled late, going scoreless over the final two innings as Stetson continued to apply pressure at the plate. Bella Dimitrijevic entered in relief after Danley’s 2 .1 innings, but the Seminoles could not close the gap.
Amber Chumley paced the Hatters with three hits and four RBIs in the upset win.
Florida State now faces a must-win scenario Saturday in a double header to keep Women’s College World Series hopes alive.
Tallahassee Regional schedule
Double elimination from Friday-Sunday (May 15-17) at JoAnne Graf Field at Seminole Softball Complex:
Friday’s games
Saturday’s games
Sunday’s games
Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5, noon
*Game 7: Winner of Game 6 vs. Loser of Game 6, 2:30 p.m.
* If necessary
Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics and Big Bend Preps for the Tallahassee Democrat. If you like to pitch a story on a high school athlete, don’t hesitate to get in touch with him via email at PHolland@Gannett.com or on X @_Da_pistol.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida State softball stunned by Stetson in NCAA opener
Reporting by Peter Holland Jr., Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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