FSU softball is in the middle of a 14-game win streak as they get ready to play the unranked Golden Bears. Led by Isa Torres the Noles have multiple All ACC and All Americans who are all living up to their billing.
The No. 10 Florida State softball team will take on the unranked California Bears in a three-game home series starting Friday.
The Noles are in the middle of a tremendous season at 25-4 while remaining undefeated in the ACC conference at 3-0.
The Bears who won 37 games last year and made it to the NCAA Tournament are feeling the effects of a young roster, as the Bears are 10-19 on the season and 1-5 within the conference.
Unlike the Noles, who have zero transfer portal players on their roster, the Bears have 15 new players which includes 10 transfers and five freshmen.
This massive overhaul of new and young players is one of the key reasons Cal is struggling this season.
Even with this year's struggles the Bears have had a few players stand out this year.
Let's look at how the Bears match up against the Noles in this ACC showdown.
Pitching
On the mound the Noles are led by All American and All ACC performer Jazzy Francik and All ACC junior Ashtyn Danley.
In 2025 Francik was the first Florida State freshman to ever throw a no-hitter against a ranked team when she took down No.15 Virginia.
This year Francik has already been named ACC Pitcher of the Week in consecutive weeks.
She has not slowed down as her 1.50 ERA ranks among the top ten in the country.
Francik is currently 10-1 on the season. In her most recent performance she had 3.0 IP giving up three hits, no earned runs, while striking out four.
Danley is 5-1 on the season and her career record is an impressive 38-9. The lefty, who also has excelled as infielder, has two home runs with 18 RBI on the season.
In her most recent performance against the Syracuse Orange the utility player pitched four innings, giving up one hit, no earned runs while striking out four.
The Bears who do not have a true ace on the mound are led by Layna Gerhard who is 3-2 with 5.02 ERA.
Gerhard was 7-0 last year as a freshman and is looking to get back on track against the Noles who have been elite at the plate this year.
Freshman righthander Mya Gowan is 3-6 on the season giving up 67 hits with 40 earned runs while only striking out 17 batters on the season. In 46.2 IP she has a 6.00 ERA.
At The Plate
The Noles are led by Torres who is in the midst of one of the greatest seasons in college softball history.
This past week Torres was named National Player of the Week by D1 Softball, and has been the ACC Player of the Week the last two weeks.
The All American has 24 hits in her last 27 at bats, and has reached first base in her last 18 plate appearances.
The junior is currently leading the nation batting average .648., and is considered one of the elite shortstops in the sport, with no errors on the season.
Jaysoni Beachum is an All American third baseman for the Noles. The 2024 National Freshman of the Year was named one of the top 50 players in the sport by USA Softball going into this season. Beachum is batting .371 and leads the team in RBI with 30.
Gator Robinson and Anaya Togia each are tied at five home runs to lead the Golden Bears.
Robinson is 26-for-75 at the plate and is batting .347. Togia is batting .333 while going 27-for-81 at the plate this season.
Intangibles
There are none for Cal. The Noles are coming off of a three-game series sweep against the Orange where they scored 36 runs in the three game series.
Add in their current 14-game win streak and this is a true mismatch
Cal is young, inexperienced, and lacks quality pitching against one of the best lineups in the sport.
At the plate the Bears are a below average team at best batting .273 as a team compared to .362 for the Noles.
On the mound the Noles have options the Bears could only dream of having with a team ERA of 6.02 compared to FSU’s 3.27 team ERA.
On paper this is another series win for FSU.
Last year the Seminoles outscored the Bears 34-7 in their three-game series. The Noles are positioned to make a College World Series run, while the Bears are trying to get their young players some much needed experience.