Softball falls to second-ranked Seminoles in matinee duel

Riley Platt, Sports Editor
March 31, 2022

The Ospreys went face-to-face with one of the best teams in the nation, the Florida State Seminoles, on Wednesday afternoon in a neutral-site game at Jacksonville University.

The wind rolled off the banks of the St. Johns River, and sunshine beamed down onto the field as things got started. It didn’t take long for the powerful FSU offense to get rolling, plating five runs in the first inning.

It all started with a bloop single just over infielder Hayley Bejarano. It was just a leadoff single; no harm, no foul, right? Things quickly unraveled, though, with FSU’s Sydney Sherrill knocking a group-rule double to center field. 

The sunny weather didn’t translate to the field, as UNF lost to Florida State 12-3 on Wednesday.
The sunny weather didn’t translate to the field, as UNF lost to Florida State 12-3 on Wednesday. (Riley Platt)

This was followed by another double, just one more cog in the barrage of base hits that left the bats for FSU in the first inning. Taking down a top-five team is no easy task, but it becomes exponentially harder when a team finds itself in a hole early.

While pitcher Morgan Clausen has had an incredible season, the senior struggled in the early moments of Tuesday’s game. The Seminoles were putting the ball everywhere that UNF couldn’t get it.

The Seminoles didn’t merely launch home run after home run, though. A slow and steady attack piled on runs to the point where a comeback was highly unlikely. Following the rough first inning, the Ospreys never got back within less than four runs. 

Kathryn Sandercock’s pitching was of crucial importance in FSU establishing control early on. The senior has had a stellar season to this point, with Wednesday’s win bolstering her record to a perfect 16-0. 

The Osprey offense got things going eventually, making their way onto the scoreboard in the second inning. Savannah Channell cracked a double to center field, bringing in Shannon Glover for UNF’s first run. An RBI single by Ashley Goebel brought in two more runs, narrowing the deficit to 7-3.

The Seminoles added on another run in the fourth inning, but both offenses went quiet for a while following this. FSU added salt to the wound, sending four more runners across the plate in the seventh inning.

The Ospreys had no more answers left, as was the case for most of the afternoon. The Seminoles took home the win in a dominant 12-3 victory. They followed this up with a 6-3 win over the Jacksonville Dolphins to complete a successful doubleheader.

UNF cannot let one rough loss to an extremely talented team derail their confidence. With the exception of two bad innings in the field, they played a solid game. The Ospreys will have a chance to regroup and bounce back at home against Central Arkansas this weekend.

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