In an exhilarating, back-and-forth contest that lasted nearly four hours, the Charlotte softball team took down No. 4 Florida State 6-5 in 10 innings on Thursday night at JoAnne Graf Field. The victory marked the Niners' first-ever win against a top-five ranked team and the first win against FSU in program history.
Sam Gress was the winning pitcher for Charlotte (1-0), tossing six innings and allowing two earned runs. Gress – who came into the game in the fifth inning – struck out three Seminole hitters and scattered seven hits in 108 pitches.
Ella Chancey led the Niners' offense, going 3-for-5 with two RBI. Arianna Rodi also chipped in with a 2-for-4 day including a solo home run.
The 49ers' offense was clicking from the get-go. In the first inning, after Cori Hoffler doubled with one out, Ella Chancey drove her teammate in by lacing an RBI triple to right field.
Lena Elkins got the start for the Niners, getting five important outs to begin the game. In the second inning, Florida State (0-1) struck for three runs to take the lead. Georgeanna Barefoot came in to relieve and, after surrendering an RBI double, retired FSU catcher Michaela Edenfield to end the threat.
From there, Barefoot set down the Seminoles' side in order each of the next two innings, retiring seven straight batters.
That bridged the gap to the fifth inning where Charlotte rallied to tie the game. After Savanna Nguyen walked on nine pitches, Olivia Williams hit an infield single and Abigail Knight drew a hit by pitch to load the bases. Chancey then legged out an infield single to third base, scoring Nguyen, to make it a 3-2 game.
Williams then came around to score on a wild pitch to tie the contest.
The Seminoles would rally for two runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 5-3 advantage. From there, Charlotte clawed their way back. Arianna Rodi got the comeback started with a leadoff, first-pitch home run that halved the deficit.After that hiccup in the fifth, Gress would settle down. She retired 15 of the final 20 batters she faced, allowing no runs against one of the nation's top offenses from a season ago.
Down to their final three outs, the Niners strung together a rally in the seventh. After a leadoff single by Chancey, Rodi slapped a base hit to right that sent Makalah Mitchell to third. Lexi Winters was then hit by a pitch to load the bases, setting the stage for a two-out battle for Nguyen. The sophomore drew a four-pitch walk to score Mitchell, tying the game at 5-5.
Both teams found runs hard to come by in the extra innings. In the top of the 10th, CLT got the spark they needed. With two outs, London Dirks doubled to left field. Knight then sliced a single down the right field line to score Dirks and put the Niners ahead 6-5.From there, Gress would take command, retiring the Florida State side in order in the bottom of the 10th.