Keeping up with the Seminoles: Florida State softball starts Clemson series with a bang

Kalei Harding has been on quite a tear for the Florida State softball team.

The sophomore catcher continued her hot play and lifted the No. 5 Seminoles (41-5, 12-4 ACC) to a thrilling 6-5 win over No. 17 Clemson (33-12, 11-8) with a walk-off single at JoAnne Graf Field on Thursday.

That single came with two outs in the bottom of the seventh and advanced freshman Amaya Ross home from third. Harding also crushed a two-RBI homer in the fifth inning that scored third baseman Sydney Sherrill.

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Harding now has seven home runs in her last 11 games and is hitting 18 of 36 (.500) with 22 RBIs during that span. The sophomore recorded just four homers in her first 35 games this season.

FSU needed Harding’s offense with starting pitcher Kathryn Sandercock struggling relative to her lofty standards. She surrendered four runs – three of which came from solo-homers – and eight hits while hurling 90 pitches across 6.1 innings. Danielle Watson relieved Sandercock and recorded the final two outs in scoreless fashion.

With the victory, the Seminoles now just need to win one of their final two games against the Tigers this weekend to claim the series. ACC Network will broadcast both of those games, which begin at 6 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday.

Here’s everything else that happened in FSU athletics this week.

Baseball

While Harding has been on fire for softball, FSU baseball shortstop Jordan Carrion also keeps lighting it up.

Carrion played a major role in the Seminoles defeating pesky Georgia Southern 6-5 in 11 innings at Dick Howser Stadium on Tuesday. With FSU trailing 5-3 in the ninth inning, Carrion crushed a two-RBI double to tie and extend the game. Tyler Martin eventually won the game with a walk-off walk.

As a sophomore transfer from the University of Florida, Carrion started slow this season. But since ending a 2-of-27 slump earlier this month, Carrion has batted 13 of 25 (.520) with eight walks and seven RBIs. He finished 3 of 4 with two RBIs and a pair of walks against the Eagles.

Sophomore pitcher Carson Montgomery recorded the final out for the Seminoles, striking out third baseman Jarrett Brown in four pitches with the bases loaded. Montgomery is expected to make his first weekend start of the season Sunday.

FSU (23-13, 10-8 ACC) will look to extend its five-game winning streak when coming to Clemson (24-13, 4-10) this weekend. All three games – which begin at 6 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday – will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.

Tennis

The FSU tennis teams are competing at the ACC Championships in Rome, Ga. this week.

The No. 32 men defeated Notre Dame 4-3 on Thursday before falling to top-seeded Virginia 4-0 on Friday. The No. 38 women dropped the Irish 4-0 on Thursday and will next face No. 1 seed North Carolina at 3:30 p.m. Friday.

Both teams will learn their postseason fate when the NCAA Tournament fields are announced on May 2.

Golf

The women’s team came close to winning its first ACC championship over the weekend.

Wake Forest spoiled those plans, edging the Seminoles 3-1-1 in the conclusion of the four-day event Sunday at The Reserve Golf Club in Pawleys Island, S.C. FSU tallied its eighth runner-up finish at the ACC Championship since joining the league in 1992.

The Seminoles will next host the NCAA Tallahassee Regional Championships on May 9-11. The men will compete in the four-day ACC Championship at the Shark’s Tooth Golf Course in Panama City Beach, which begins Friday, before the NCAA Championships start on May 16.

Coming up

This weekend, the outdoor track teams will participate in both the Virginia Challenge in Charlottesville and the Crimson Tride Invitational in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The Seminoles are splitting into two groups – with the distance runners (Virginia Challenge) and throwers (Crimson Tide Invitational) competing in separate events.

Reach Carter Karels at ckarels@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @CarterKarels.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU softball defeats Clemson with Kalei Harding walk-off single