Cards Fall in 11 Innings at No. 3 Florida State

Saturday, May 6

Tallahassee, FL

2:00 PM

University of Louisville

35-16, 0

Florida State

46-8, 0

Louisville

Florida State

May 06, 2023 | Softball

Box Score

Louisville loses 6-4 on a walk-off two-run homer in the 11th inning

By: Lori Harmon

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The University of Louisville softball team fell 6-4 to No. 3/3 Florida State in 11 innings behind Devyn Flaherty's two-run walk-off home run Saturday evening at JoAnne Graf Field.

The teams will conclude the series Sunday at 12 p.m. in an ACC Network-televised game.

Louisville built a 4-1 lead through three innings, but the Seminoles (46-8, 21-2) evened the score with three runs in the sixth. With the contest still knotted at 4-4 in the bottom of the 11th, Hallie Wacaser drew a leadoff walk and Flaherty followed with a home run to give the host Seminoles the series win.

The Cards (35-16, 16-6 ACC) broke through early with a run in the first when Korbe Otis led off the game with a hit and proceeded to swipe her 20^th base of the season. Easton Lotus followed with an infield single to put runners on the corners and Korbe scored in a rundown between first and third that saw Lotus out at first base, but gave Louisville a 1-0 lead.

The second inning brought more offense for the Cardinals. Hannah File reached on a fielder's choice. After a hit by Ally Alexander, both runners advanced on a wild pitch to set the table for Maddi Grant's pinch hit two-run single which put the Cards up 3-0.

The offense continued for Louisville in the third when Taylor Roby crushed a shot over the centerfield fence for her 22^nd home run of the year which ties her for the NCAA lead.

The Seminoles got on the scoreboard with a run in the third, bringing the score to 4-1..

After the third inning, Louisville's starting pitcher Alyssa Zabala retired eight straight batters before Jahni Kerr broke through with her second double of the game to lead off the sixth inning. An error on the play sent Kerr to third and she crossed the plate on another Louisville miscue. Wacaser's two-run single tied the game at 4-4. With a runner on first, catcher Sarah Gordon teamed with Daisy Hess to throw pinch runner Amaya Ross out at while attempting to steal for the second out of the inning and a fly out kept the game tied.

Florida State had a chance to score in the home half of the seventh inning when Dack delivered a one-out hit, but Roby and the Cardinals' defense kept the Seminoles at bay and send the game into extra innings.

Each team tallied a hit in the eighth, but neither was able to push a run across with Louisville's Lotus, Hess and File teaming for a double play to push the game to the ninth. FSU threatened again with two runners on in the 10th inning, but come up empty as Louisville's defense held strong and the contest entered the 11^th frame.

Florida State's Kathryn Sandercock (20-3) entered the circle with two outs in the ninth inning and retired the next eight batters she saw to get the win.

Roby (10-6) took the loss, allowing three earned runs on seven hits in five innings of relief. Six different Cardinals had a hit in the game.

NOTES:

Louisville is now 2-1 on the season in extra-inning games.
Saturday's loss marks the first time the Cardinals have dropped back-to-back ACC games since April 6 and 7 in a series loss against Notre Dame.
The last time the Cardinals played an 11-inning game was April 25, 2021 and resulted in a 0-0 tie against then-No. 7 Florida State at Ulmer Stadium. The game ended in a tie due to travel/time constraints.
With her home run in the game, Roby now has a school-record 22 on the season and 62 in her career. She is tied for the NCAA lead in home runs this season.
Roby also extends her current hitting streak to 11 games and has reached safely via a hit or walk on 16 straight games.
Lotus is now on an eight-game hitting streak and an 11-game on-base streak.