Syracuse softball drops series finale to No. 10 Florida State 11-6

By: Nick Zuppe | @nickzuppe

Tallahassee, FL – Syracuse softball (11-10, 0-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) drops its third straight game to number 10 Florida State (25-4, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), 11-6, and starts ACC play by losing three games. But after getting outscored 25-2 in the first two games against the Seminoles, the Orange were in it. 

From the jump, it looked as if the Seminoles would continue to crush the Orange. FSU put up six runs on five hits, and two home runs off Julianna Verni, who got taken out without getting an out. Madison Knight would then go into pitch for Verni and get every single out. 

Offensively, Syracuse was down 7-0 going to the top of the fourth, but it had the answer, scoring six runs. The swing of the inning came from Jadyn Burney, who hit a grand slam that made the score 7-6. The senior has two career home runs, both grand slams this season. Also, Burney is up to 12 RBI, after having 11 in 42 games last season. 

But, FSU answered in the bottom of the fifth with seven runs. However, two costly errors from SU in that inning were a key reason why Florida State scored that much. All told, Madison Knight was dominant on the mound. The senior allowed only one earned run across all six innings, with four strikeouts. Again, due to the errors, Knight let in five total runs, but only one was earned.  

Now, SU can put this weekend behind them and turn its attention to the home opener. ACC play rolls on for Syracuse as it takes on Virginia at Skytop Softball Stadium this weekend: Friday at 3:00, Saturday at 1:00, and Sunday at noon. For live game updates, follow @nickzuppe on X/Twitter and @citrustvsports on X/Twitter and Youtube for coverage!