After a surprising sweep, Florida State Softball aims to rebound at home. Can the Seminoles' star-studded lineup and pitching silence the explosive Tar Heels?
This weekend No. 12 Florida State softball welcomes North Carolina to JoAnne Graf Field in Tallahassee.
FSU (36-7, 12-3) went into last weekend's three-game series against Stanford undefeated in conference and riding a 25-game win streak. The Seminoles were swept by the Cardinal, losing ACC matchups for the first time this season, as well as losing back-to-back games for the first time.
North Carolina (31-11, 9-9 ACC) comes in unranked.
FSU has dropped three spots, from No. 9 to No. 12, in the most recent rankings after losing three straight to the then-unranked Cardinal.
"You're going to get challenged at some point during the season, and you're going to learn lessons from it, and every challenge is a little bit different," Seminoles coach Lonni Alameda told reporters after the team's recent losses. "And so this form of being swept is a different challenge for us, and I think giving us an opportunity to converse about some things as a team."
Though the team was swept last weekend, the Noles remain one of the most productive teams in the country, and have multiple players who are having career seasons.
Junior shortstop Isa Torres is having the best season among her Seminoles sisters, as the All American was already named D1 Softball and Sports Illustrated National Player of the Week and the ACC Player of the Week twice this year. Torres set a NCAA consecutive-hits record when she went 16-for-16 at the plate earlier this season. In her last 22 games she has eight homers, and is batting .632 at the plate. Torres has yet to commit an error in the field this season.
All American Jaysoni Beachum has reached base in 31 consecutive games. The junior third baseman leads the team with 50 RBI, and has hit seven home runs so far this season. With 34 home runs she is already ninth all-time at FSU, and because of her power at the plate she leads the ACC with 0.90 walks per game.
On the mound, the Garnet and Gold are led by two-time ACC Pitcher of The Week Jazzy Francik and Ashtyn Danley. This year Francik is 15-2 with a 2.01 ERA. Danley has a 1.93 ERA in the ACC and is 3-0 in conference play this season.
Defensively, the Noles are much improved from last season and currently have a fielding percentage of .682, which is fourth in the country, and leads the ACC.
North Carolina is one of the most explosive teams in the nation. They have five players who each have at least 10 home runs. Emily LeGette, a Fort Lauderdale native and former American Heritage star, leads the ACC in home runs with 22, RBI (67), and slugging percentage (1.112). As a team, the Tar Heels have 90 home runs and are on pace to shatter the team record of 92.
The Tar Heels have not beaten FSU since 2022, and have not won in Tallahassee since 2013. UNC is also 2-9 versus ranked opponents this season. FSU has only lost three games to Carolina in the two teams' last 25 matchups.
First pitch for Game 1 on Friday is set for 6 p.m. ET.
Game 2 on Saturday is scheduled for 3 p.m., while Sunday's rubber match will start at noon.
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