Looking Back at the NCAA Champions: 2018 Florida State Seminoles

Photo courtesy Florida State Softball

With the 2024 season underway, all eyes will soon be on the chase for the title.

Early focus will be centered on the University of Oklahoma as they begin the quest to become the first team in Division I history to win four consecutive national championships.

The Sooners tied UCLA (1988, 1989, 1990) as the only teams to ever win three consecutive titles when they defeated Florida State to claim the 2023 title.

Extra Inning Softball will be reviewing the 41 national champions that have previously hoisted the trophy.

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2018 Florida State Seminoles

The Venue: USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium, Oklahoma City, Okla.

The Head Coach: Lonni Alameda

The Players (Women’s College World Series Roster): Dani Morgan, Morgan Klaevemann, Savanna Copeland, Elizabeth Mason, Zoe Casas, Korina Rosario, Denja Bush, Cali Harrod, Rock Benavides, Carsyn Gordon, Anna Shelnutt, Mackenzie Puckett, Madison Kennedy, Kylee Hanson, Sabrina Stutsman, Abby Evans, Tessa Daniels, Sydney Sherrill, Leslie Farris, Jessie Warren, Meghan King, Cassidy Davis

The Regular Season: Florida State head coach Lonnie Alameda had built the Seminoles into one of the top programs in the country, but the national championship had eluded FSU. Florida State had made nine previous trips to the Women’s College World Series entering the 2018 season, but had yet to win the final game of the season. The Seminoles made an opening-day statement with an 18-1 victory and won their first seven games of the year on the way to a 44-10 regular season record and cruised to the Atlantic Coast Conference title with a 21-3 record. The Seminoles then captured the ACC Tournament title with victories over Louisville, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh. The Seminoles offense was led by Jessie Warren who had a brilliant year for FSU. She batted .404 on the year, hit 21 home runs and drove in 70 runs to lead the Noles in all three categories. Sydney Sherrill backed up Warren as she hit .370, belted 12 home runs and drove in 58 runs, while Carsyn Gordon batted .305 with 12 homers and 51 RBIs. The Florida State pitching staff was the backbone of the team and featured a dynamic one-two punch in Meghan King and Kylee Hanson. King posted a 26-6 record with a 1.17 earned run average and 190 strikeouts, while Hanson was 30-6 with a 1.33 ERA and 241 strikeouts. Warren (Second Team), Hanson (Second
Team) and Sherrill (Third Team) each were named All-American.

The Regional: Florida State began the postseason by hosting the NCAA Tallahassee Regional which featured Jacksonville State, Auburn, Kennesaw State and the Seminoles. FSU opened regional play against Jacksonville State and the Seminoles rode the pitching of Kylee Hanson to an 8-0 victory. Hanson threw a no-hitter as she went 5.0 innings and struck out 13 batters. Jessie Warren went 1-for-2 with three RBIs and Sydney Sherrill was 1-for-3 with two RBIs to pace the offense. Game two of the regional featured a meeting with Auburn and the Seminoles needed extra innings to stay undefeated. With one out in the bottom of the eighth inning, Carsyn Gordon belted a walk-off home run lifting FSU to a 2-1 victory over the Tigers. Meghan King picked up the win in the circle as she went 8.0 innings, allowed three hits and struck out eight batters. Looking to secure a spot in the Super Regional, Florida State made short work of Jacksonville State in the rematch as the Seminoles rolled to a 10-0 victory. Hanson allowed only one hit over 6.0 innings while striking out 11 to lead FSU to the win. Florida State scored five runs in the top of the third inning and added two in the fourth and three in the seventh. Sherrill went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs and Zoe Casas was 2-for-2 with two RBIs.

The Super Regional: Florida State stayed at home for the Super Regional as the Seminoles hosted LSU in Tallahassee, Fla. LSU came ready to play as the Tigers jumped out to a 5-0 lead and then held off a late Florida State rally to post a 5-4 victory in game one of the Super Regional. Jessie Warren belted a three-run home run and also drove in another run with a sacrifice fly, but it was not enough to lift FSU to the victory. With the season on the line, Florida State earned an 8-5 victory in 11 innings in game two to even the series at 1-1. After falling behind 1-0 in the second inning, the Seminoles responded with four runs in the third inning and another run in the fifth inning to take a 5-1 lead. LSU answered with a grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning to knot the score at 5-5. The Seminoles finally put the game away in the 11th inning by scoring three runs to post the victory. Anna Shelnutt went 2-for-5 with three RBIs, while Warren and Cali Harrod each drove in a pair of runs to lead the FSU offense. Meghan King turned in a gritty performance in the circle as she went all 11.0 innings and allowed eight hits and struck out 12 batters. Florida State then used a big third inning and the pitching of Kylee Hanson to win the third game of the Super Regional 3-1. The Seminoles scored all three of their runs in the third inning and then left the rest to Hanson as she went 7.0 innings and permitted just five hits while striking out four. With the win, Florida State punched its ticket to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla.

The Field at the Women’s College World Series: Arizona State, Florida State, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, Oregon, UCLA, Washington

The Seminoles at the Women’s College World Series: Florida State opened the WCWS against UCLA in search of its first national championship in school history. The Seminoles jumped out to an early lead only to see UCLA storm back to post a 7-4 win sending FSU to the loser’s bracket after game one. Florida State broke a scoreless tie by plating four runs in the top of the fifth inning. Dani Morgan singled in the Seminoles first run of the game and later in the fifth Sydney Sherrill laced a three-run double giving FSU a 4-0 lead. UCLA responded with a run in the bottom of the fifth inning and then scored six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to notch the win. With its season hanging in the balance every time they took the field, Florida State faced Georgia in its second game of the WCWS. The Seminoles once again jumped out to an early lead, but this time they added to the lead and defeated the Bulldogs 7-2. FSU took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on an RBI double from Zoe Casas. The Seminoles added three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 4-0 lead. Casas stayed hot for the Noles as she highlighted the inning with a two-run single. Georgia responded with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth inning, but FSU would answer. Morgan hit a two-run single in the bottom of the fifth inning and the Noles tacked on another run in the sixth inning to close out the game. Meghan King went 7.0 innings, allowed just five hits, no earned runs and struck out four. Next up for the Noles was Oregon and the pitching of Kylee Hanson and King and the bat of Elizabeth Mason carried FSU to a 4-1 win over the Ducks. Hanson went 6.1 innings and permitted five hits and no earned runs and King pitched the final 0.2 innings to nail down the win. Mason led the FSU offense as she went 2-for-3 and drove in two runs. FSU would next meet UCLA in a rematch of game one of the WCWS and the Seminoles would need a pair of wins over the Bruins to earn a spot in the championship finals. UCLA struck first by scoring a run in the top of the third inning to take a 1-0 lead. With the innings running out, Mason came to the rescue for FSU as she blasted a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning giving the Seminoles a 3-1 lead. King notched a pair of strikeouts in the seventh inning to seal the victory and she went 7.0 innings, allowed no earned runs and fanned 10 batters. Seeking to secure its first-ever berth in the championship finals, the Florida State bats came to life and carried the Seminoles to a 12-6 victory over the Bruins. Carsyn Gordon and Sherrill each drove in three runs and Jessie Warren added a pair of RBIs for FSU. Florida State scored four runs in the top of the second inning, three in the fourth and five in the fifth inning to secure the victory.

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