And So It Ends.

Just over a week ago, the FSU Softball team had a rough go of the ACC Championship Tournament, eliminated by Georgia Tech 9-1 in the 2nd round. The dreams of repeating last year's unlikely ACC Championship were slammed shut by a hot Yellow Jackets team. Thanks to a rough final few weeks, the NCAA Committee decided that Tallahassee wasn't worthy of hosting a regional (even though our RPI was 16) and saw fit that the Noles had to fly out to Los Angeles for the UCLA Regional last weekend.

I didn't like FSU's chances against the powerful UCLA bats, and eventually the Noles were eliminated from the region, but the regional was very, very different than expected based on the seeding. Both Florida State and UCLA lost their opening round games (FSU 1-0 to San Diego State behind a gem of a game by Monica Perry). FSU then eliminated UCLA in the loser's bracket 2-1, but then couldn't muster up any offense against San Diego State in an elimination game, losing 1-0 and ending the 2012 season.

Season Thoughts after the jump >>>------|>

Continue reading this post »

The ACC Sucks. North Carolina finished 13-4 in conference due to weather cancellations. FSU played their full schedule, finishing 16-5. UNC ends up the number one seed / regular season champs. Garbage. On the bright side there are no rings for regular season champions, just for the tournament. Oh and did I mention the championship is played on UNC's home turf? Garbage. As usual, we're Swofford'd.

Personal notes after the jump >>>------|>

Continue reading this post »

LORDY LORDY LOOKS WHO'S GOT 40. The FSU Softball Team swept the Boston College Eagles (12-4, 2-0, 5-0) over the weekend in their final home games of 2012, putting them over the 40 win mark. FSU also went into Baton Rouge last week and smacked down the LSU Tigers 8-1. Overall, the Noles were 4-1 on the week, with their only loss on the road at Troy 4-3.

FSU is 42-11 overall, 15-3 in the ACC and 26-4 at JoAnne Graf Field. If FSU can win 3 of the final 4 games, they'll have the best record since 2004's 62-12 (54-9 regular season). I hope FSU is making a push to host a regional, this team definitely deserves that shot in the playoffs and has a huge advantage at home this season.

Personal notes after the jump >>>------|>

Continue reading this post »

ENJOY THE CAN OF RAID, JACKETS. I'm pressed for time this week, so this is going to be a quick and dirty 10th update. The least you need to know is that this Noles team is hanging together even with some injuries and some pitching issues that have cropped up. The Noles beat FAMU (5-3), lost to South Alabama (3-1) and won the ACC series against Georgia Tech (L 5-4, W 7-6, W 4-3).

The Noles take on LSU this Wednesday in Baton Rouge (another big road test), Troy on Thursday and then have their FINAL home series / games of the season against Boston College this Saturday and Sunday. So if you want to check out FSU Softball (although I think it's more likely than not we'll get a regional nod this year) for FREE (NCAA Regionals are ticketed events) then head out to JoAnne Graf Field this weekend.

Personal notes after the jump >>>------|>

Continue reading this post »

REBOUND WEEK. A big shout out to the Virginia Tech Hokies for being FSU's rebound chick (or dude since this is softball?) after a whipping at the tiny little croc arms of the Gators (9-1 mercy rule in 6 innings) and a rough start against VT on Friday (11-5).

I attended the Gators / Noles game last week. The VT stuff is purely what I followed on Twitter and in summaries.

Personal notes after the jump >>>------|>

Continue reading this post »

PERRYED ALIVE. FSU Softball had lots of big wins last week going 4-1! The Noles notched two victories over Florida Gulf Coast University on Thursday, and two big wins over ACC rival North Carolina (Game 1 of the Sunday doubleheader and last night's nationally televised contest). The Noles are 33-6 overall (20-1 at home, UNC was the first to hand FSU a loss at JoAnne Graf Field this year) and 8-1 in ACC play (1st place). It was a HUGE week for FSU.

I was able to check out the FGCU series on Thursday in person. Thanks to the handy dandy XBOX 360 ESPN App, I watched the Sunday doubleheader and checked out the last two innings of last nights rubber game on ESPNU.

Personal notes after the jump >>>------|>

Continue reading this post »

SWEEP THE WEEK. FSU Softball swept last week going 6-0! The Noles notched two victories over Jacksonville (6-0, 7-1), one over FAMU (10-1 in 5 innings / mercy rule) and a big, big sweep over the weekend against the Virginia Cavaliers (5-0, 2-0, 3-1). The Noles are 29-5 overall and an undefeated 6-0 in ACC play. It was a big week for FSU, which continues to pitch very, very well.

I was unable to attend any games last week, but that will change this week.

Personal notes after the jump >>>------|>

Continue reading this post »

Mixed Results. The Noles ended up with a winning record last week (3-2), but failed again to beat Top 25 competition (USF) on the road. Two words come to mind right now about FSU's 23-5 record. Paper tiger. If it sound harsh, it probably is harsh. My feeling is that after a rough 2011 that featured up and down performances all year the 2012 Noles graduated to generally beating the teams they "should" beat. Their record reflects that. The problem is that they need to take another step and start beating high quality opponents.

I did not see any of the games in person this week, so my observations are based purely on stats and recaps.

Personal notes after the jump >>>------|>

Continue reading this post »

The Noles returned to the friendly confines of JoAnne Graf Field and returned to their winning ways. After a long flight home from Hawaii, the Noles returned to Tallahassee and let out some frustration on N.C. State over the weekend. FSU swept the Wolfpack (7-1, 8-0, 6-0).

Personal notes after the jump >>>------|>

Continue reading this post »

We've returned to earth a bit. Over the weekend the Noles went 2-3 in Hawaii, with one more game to play against the Rainbow Wahine before FSU returns to the Lower 48 and the friendly confines of JoAnne Graf Field on March 10. The Noles managed two victories over UCSB (5-1, 13-4), but dropped games to Radford (3-2), and Hawaii (2-1, 1-0). They are 17-3 overall in 2012 and play Hawaii again today Tuesday at 11pm EST.

Personal notes after the jump >>>------|>

Continue reading this post »

The Florida State Softball Team remains perfect in 2012!!!! Our Seminoles moved to 15-0 over the weekend with some huge come from behind victories. Last Wednesday, the Noles beat in-state rival UCF in extra innings (9) with a walk-off grand slam by Brianna "Breezy" Hamilton. The Noles then turned their attention to the Citrus Classic in Orlando where they defeated St. Johns (5-1), Wisconsin (6-2, this time a Top 7 grand slam by Erika Leonard put the Noles over the top), Southern Illinois (2-0), Marshall (4-1) and Wisconsin again (2-1).

Personal notes after the jump >>>------|>

Continue reading this post »

The Florida State Softball Team remains perfect in 2012. The Noles moved to 9-0 over the weekend with a 9-1 mercy-rule win over Western Carolina on Friday, two wins on Saturday (6-1 over Coastal Carolina, 2-1 over North Dakota State) and a victory over Mercer on Sunday (3-0). The main theme of the weekend? The Noles beat teams they are expected to beat. Games like these were not automatic last year, but with a revamped pitching the staff and solid bats the Noles are in much better shape in 2012.

Personal notes after the jump >>>------|>

Continue reading this post »

The FSU Softball Team started off the 2012 season over the weekend, and they came out strong. The Noles started 5-0 over the weekend with Friday victories over Stephen F. Austin (I attended) & Ole Miss. Saturday featured two victories over Tennessee Tech (the late game by mercy rule). Sunday's championship game featured not only an 8-0, 5 inning mercy rule, but also a 5 inning no-hitter by true freshman Lacey Waldrop.

Personal notes after the jump >>>------|>

Continue reading this post »

Gather around TNers. Daddy NoleCC has one of his old man stories to tell you. No, I'm not asking you to get off my lawn, you already know that. I'm talking about FSU spring football. This one is about tailgating and enjoying early April in Tallahassee and that we should think about returning to a great tradition. I've yet to find a better Spring than Tallahassee's, and not too long ago it was enhanced by having the FSU spring game, a Miami / FSU baseball game and a bunch of other events on the same day.

Shocking idea, right?

The last few spring games were focused solely on FSU Football at Doak. Let's bring back former players, let's play it up on ESPN3 and let's have a real good time. I get it. I understand the thought behind featuring your bread and butter program individually, rather than share the spotlight with non-revenue generating sports. But, as is often the case, the seemingly best business decision isn't always the best fan decision. I think there's a way to feature the scrimmage and also boost it with a bunch of other FSU events.

Continue reading this post »