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Florida State Hits The Road To Face Virginia And Maryland
Southern Atlantic Softball Alliance automatic bid is on the line.

May 2, 2000

COMING UP THIS WEEK...

The Southern Atlantic Softball Alliance automatic bid is on the line as Florida State hits the road to face Virginia in a 1 p.m., doubleheader on Wednesday, May 3rd and Maryland in a 3 p.m., doubleheader on Thursday, May 4th.

DIAMOND DUST...

RECORD: 44-25
STREAK: won three
LAST OUTING: The Lady Seminoles won their eighth ACC title in nine years defeating Maryland, 3-0 and Virginia twice, 3-1 and 2-0 on Monday, May 1st.

THE LADY SEMINOLES QUICKLY...

Batting Leader:Serita Brooks, .400
Hits Leader:Serita Brooks, 88
Runs Leader:Serita Brooks, 51
Doubles Leader:Natalie Bennett, 11
Triples Leader:Kimmy Carter, 6
Serita Brooks, 6
Brandi Stuart, 6
Home Runs Leader:Teresa Edenfield, 3
Kelly Miller, 3
RBIs Leader:Teresa Edenfield, 40
Stolen Bases Leader:Serita Brooks, 41
ERA Leader:Leslie Malerich, 1.16
(30-14 current record)

FOR THE RECORD...

ACC Tourney Record:4-1
ACC Record:2-2
SASA Record:4-2
Home:21-10
Away:14-1
Neutral:9-14
Tournament Play:21-20
vs ranked opponents2-11
Day Games36-20
Night Games8-5
One run games11-11
Two run games5-3
Five+ run games17-3
Extra innings2-6
Shutouts22-7

COACH'S CORNER

Dr. JoAnne Graf is in her 22nd season at the helm of the Lady Seminole program. Her record stands at 1048-310-6. In 1999, Graf became the first coach in NCAA Division I history to amass 1,000 Division I victories and the first to reach that plateau at one university. She has guided FSU to five College World Series, 12 NCAA Regional appearances, two slowpitch National Championships and eight ACC Championships. Her coaching has produced 17 All-Americans and numerous all-region and all-conference selections.

WHY IMPORTANT?

The road swing could be the most important series of the season. With a sweep of both Virginia and Maryland, the Lady Seminoles will earn the SASA automatic bid to regionals. The five ACC schools and East Carolina make up the Southern Atlantic Softball Alliance. All six teams play a doubleheader throughout the season and the team with the best record at the end of that competition, earns an automatic bid to regionals. FSU is currently in second place in the SASA. North Carolina will face East Carolina this week.

The SASA standings are ...

UNC6-2
FSU4-2
UVA5-3
Maryland4-4
Ga. Tech3-7
E. Carolina2-6

44 AND COUNTING...

FSU's 44 wins so far this season already surpasses the Tribe's total wins of 40 last season.

WINNING STREAK

With its one loss in the ACC Tournament, FSU is on just a three-game winning streak, but the Tribe has won 13 of their last 15 games. The Lady Seminoles' longest win streak this season has been eight straight from Feb. 16-26th.

FSU IN THE ACC TOURNAMENT

  • FSU's overall ACC Tournament record is 28-6.
  • FSU has won eight of nine ACC Tournament titles.
  • Including this season, FSU has hosted the ACC Tournament seven times, including three consecutive seasons.
  • FSU's #3 seeding in this year's tourney was the lowest for the Noles in an ACC Tourney. Previously, FSU had been the #1 seed five times and the #2 seed three times.
  • FSU has had eight players earn ACC Tournament MVP honors. They are: Susan Buttery (1992), Lisa Davidson (1993), Cindy Lawton (1995), Renee Espinoza (1996), Kristy Fuentes (1997), Stacy Venable (1998), Danielle Cox (1999), Leslie Malerich (2000).

  • FSU's ACC Tournament History:

    YearSeedRecordFinishLocation
    1992#13-0ChampionTallahassee
    1993#14-1ChampionTallahassee
    1994#13-2Runner upTallahassee
    1995#13-1ChampionTallahassee
    1996#23-0ChampionRaleigh, NC
    1997#12-1Co-ChampionMarietta, GA
    1998#23-0ChampionTallahassee
    1999#23-0ChampionTallahassee
    2000#34-1ChampionTallahassee

    ACC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM HONORS

    FSU was well-represented on the 2000 ACC Championships All-Tournament Team.

    Joining Leslie Malerich, who earned Most Valuable Player honors, were Serita Brooks, Natalie Bennett and Staci Brandon.

    BROOKS AND BRANDON TIE ACC MARK

    Serita Brooks, who batted .529, and Staci Brandon, who batted .500 with a team-high four RBI, each recorded nine hits in the ACC Tournament, tying the tournament record for hits.

    3-0 MEANS THIRD TIME'S A CHARM FOR MALERICH

    Leslie Malerich went 3-0 in the final day of the ACC Tournament and the last win gave her her 30th win of the season. Only five other FSU pitchers have reached the 30-win mark since the Tribe went to fastpitch in 1984.

    PUTTING A STOP TO 'EM

    ACC Tourney MVP Leslie Malerich pitched 17 and two-thirds innings of shutout ball in the final day of the ACC Tournament.

    RIPPING IT

    The Lady Seminoles have recorded double digit hits in 13 games overall this season. FSU is 12-1 in those contests with its only loss coming to Auburn, 5-4, in 13 innings.

    SHUTTING 'EM OUT!

    Florida State pitching has produced 22 shutouts this season, including a no-hitter against Florida A&M and a perfect game against Princeton. Leslie Malerich leads the unit with 15 solo and two combined shutouts. The Lady Seminoles have been shut out seven times this year.

    HOME RUN CLUB

    The Lady Seminoles have 16 home runs this season while FSU pitching has allowed eight. The Tribe had a total of seven last season. Kelly Miller and Teresa Edenfield lead the team with three apiece while Kimmy Carter, Brandi Stuart, Natalie Bennett and Serita Brooks each have two and Jenn White-Stokes and Andi Lyons each have one.

    TEAM LEADER

    Serita Brooks, a transfer from North Florida CC, quickly made a name for herself. The Cottondale, Ala., native leads the team in batting at .400, hits with 88 and stolen bases with 41. She has also earned ACC Player of the Week honors once this season.

    ON THE BASEPATHS

    The Lady Seminoles definitely have speed in the line up. Serita Brooks leads the team with 41 stolen bases, while Brandi Stuart has 33. As a team, FSU has recorded 106 stolen bases to its opponents' 34.

    TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT

    The Lady Seminoles are 44-25 heading into this weekend's action. Eleven of the Tribe's 25 losses have been by just one run and five of those games went extra innings before being decided.

    TOO MANY HITS

    Auburn belted 16 hits in the second game of the doubleheader (10 in first seven hittings). It's the most hits that FSU pitching has allowed this season. UNC had 10 hits in the first game of the DH, marking just the third time this season that FSU pitching has allowed double-digit hits. FSU has a 1-2 record in those games.

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