The Seminoles wrapped up their fourth sweep of an ACC opponent this season.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Capping off a trio of excellent careers, seniors Maddie O’Brien, Bailey Schinella and Lacey Waldrop contribued another victory to Florida State in a five-inning, 8-0 win against Virginia (15-36, 4-17 ACC) on Sunday.
The victory on Senior Day gave the No. 10 Seminoles (37-11, 17-3 ACC) their fourth sweep of an ACC opponent this season and they improved to 21-0-3 in their past 24 series against conference foes dating back to 2012.
Waldrop made her 159th career pitching appearance on Sunday, but it was her first time in the batting lineup as the two-time All-American hit a hard groundout in her first at-bat and wrapped up the day with an RBI single in the fifth.
“It was really fun,” Waldrop said. “It was definitely different. I’m not used to seeing the ball come from that way, but I could definitely tell, as a pitcher, the different spins, so I think that was helpful. But it was so much fun and I’m glad the coaches let me do that on Senior Day.”
In the circle, Waldrop tossed a 5-inning shutout, allowing just three baserunners on two infield hits and a walk. She registered seven strikeouts and improved to 24-5 on the year and has not allowed an earned run in 24.0 consecutive innings.
Schinella walked and came in to score on Waldrop’s single in the fifth. She is fourth on the team with 23 walks and has scored 21 runs this season.
“It was definitely emotional, I didn’t really expect to be this emotional about it,” Schinella said. “But it is a good emotion. I am very grateful for this opportunity I’ve had here. I’m proud to be a Seminole and I’m so thankful that coach [Lonni Alameda] recruited me.”
O’Brien got the offense going for FSU early as she drove in an RBI with a single in the first and added a two-run home run in the second inning. She added a walk in the fifth inning to push her season total to 60.
“My mom told me yesterday, ‘You’re going to hit a home run tomorrow. I can feel it,’ ” O’Brien said. “To hit it, it was surreal and I was so glad that it was a special day.
“This is where I wanted to come and for Coach Alameda to give me that opportunity and teach me that I’m representing Florida State and not O’Brien, that’s proven everything. I’m just very fortunate to be here.”
Morgan Klaevemann had a career day at the plate for the Seminoles as she was 3-for-3 with two RBI, including two triples, and scored three runs. She also stole two bases as she improved her batting average to .398 on the season.
Alex Powers walked on all three plate appearances on Sunday to give her 44 for the season. Victoria Daddis and Jessica Warren added RBI singles in the fifth as well as the Seminoles secured the run-rule victory.
UVa’s Alex Formby took the loss and moved to 3-13 on the season, giving up eight runs on eight hits with nine walks and three strikeouts in 4.1 innings.
