Florida State eyes the top ACC Tournament seed, battling Georgia Tech in a crucial series. Can the Noles extend their dominance?
No. 12 Florida State softball (40-7, 15-3) is traveling to Atlanta GA to face the unranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (29-23, 10-11) for a three game series starting April 24.
The high powered Noles are looking to secure the top seed in next month's ACC Tournament and adding a few conference wins this weekend will help their chances.
Week in Rewind
FSU is coming off of an impressive win at home against the No. 8 Florida Gators. The Noles were dominant on the mound with Jazzy Francik and Ashtyn Danley combining for one earned run. National Player of the Year candidate Isa Torres did not disappoint as the All American blasted two home runs in the game helping Florida State secure a 3-1 victory.
The Yellow Jackets are coming off of back-to-back wins versus No. 10 Virginia Tech.
Key Matchup
Led by Torres, Jaysoni Beachum and Shelby McKenzie, the Seminoles are one of the hottest teams in the country at the plate. Tech has been inconsistent on the mound and has a team ERA of 3.79. If the Yellow Jackets do not have early pitching success, it will be a struggle against an FSU team that is averaging over eight runs a game.
Players to Watch
Isa Torres is already established herself as one of the most dominant Seminoles in college softball history. The No. 1-rated shortstop leads the nation with a career-high 13 homers and a .586 batting average. The right-handed Francik has been named ACC Pitcher of the Week on two occasions this year and has a 2.04 ERA.
Red-shirt sophomore Gracyn Tucker is batting .388 with 16 home runs for Georgia Tech. The All-ACC infielder is the engine of Jackets' offense. Madalyn Johnson is 12-11 on the mound, with a 3.31 ERA. The sophomore righty has 120 strikeouts on the season.
X Factor
Despite their 23 losses this season, the Yellow Jackets are an impressive 22-8 at home. If their best players beat down this weekend, they could play spoilers against this hungry Seminoles team, as unranked Stanford proved when the Cardinal swept the Noles in Palo Alto to end FSU's then 25-game winning streak.
Florida State has not lost to the Yellow Jackets since 2013, home or away. FSU has won the last 26 meetings against Tech, and is 72-26 all-time against the Yellow Jackets.
First pitch is at 6 p.m. at Shirley Clements Mewborn Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
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