The No. 10 Florida State Seminoles upset the No. 2 Florida Gators 4-0 in Wednesday night’s rivalry game. The Seminoles hosted the Gators at Joanne Graf Field in Tallahassee, and were dominant from the beginning of the contest until the end.
After a silent first inning from the Gators (33-6), Florida State (34-5) capitalized and started the game off hot, hitting a three-run home run from Jahni Kerr in the first inning. This set up the Seminoles with an early 3-0 lead, putting serious pressure on the Gators.
Seminole starting pitcher Ashtyn Danley was on fire throughout the first five innings of the game. Danley only allowed four hits with no runs. Meanwhile, after giving up a three-run home run in the first, Florida starter pitcher Keagan Rothrock did not allow a single hit until the fifth inning.
The strong performance from both defenses only heightened the impact of the high-scoring first inning from Florida State. No matter what happened while the Gators were on defense, the offense was not able to make up the early deficit.
As previously mentioned, the standout player of the game for the Gators was undeniably Rothrock. To make up for the rough start, she was at the top of her game for the remainder of the contest. Her efforts kept the Gators in the game, but they weren’t able to cash in at the dish.
FSU’s major standout was Kerr as she provided the Seminole offense with some serious firepower. In addition to her three-run home run to start the game, she also put the nail in the coffin with a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Both teams have high expectations for the season ahead, so this was certainly a statement win for the Seminoles, with strong implications in the national rankings going forward.
Florida State will hope to keep up the energy as they host the Virginia Cavaliers next week. First pitch is set to take place at 6:00 PM on Friday, April 4th.
Unfortunately, things won’t get easier for the Gators, as their next game will be at home against the 12th ranked Arkansas Razorbacks. The first pitch of this game is set to take place at 4:00 PM on Friday, April 4th.