Florida State softball faced its first ranked opponent since February, when they faced the 23rd ranked Stanford Cardinal. The Seminoles showed fight against the Cardinal, especially by Ashtyn Danley, but golden moment for the home team gives FSU their first loss since February.
As the visitors on The Farm, FSU stepped in the box against Stanford’s Zoe Prystajko. It was quick work for Prystajko, as she only used seven pitches to retire the first three Seminoles.
In the bottom of the inning, Ashtyn Danley got her lead off batter, but back to back singles had the Cardinal on first and third. A sacrifice fly traded an out for a run, putting Stanford in the lead early. Quickly, a triple extended the lead.
Danley made up for the two runs in the previous inning, as she got one run back on a long ball. Other than a double from Kennedy Harp, the only hit came off the bat of Danley.
PITCHERS THAT RAKE‼️‼️‼️ASHTYN SENDS ONE DEEP💣💣📺 ESPNews#Team43 pic.twitter.com/5sJ6mNuZ1K
— Florida State Softball 🥎 (@FSU_Softball) April 11, 2026
In the circle for the second time, Danley had runners on early, but a pair of strikeouts and a ball back got her out of the jam.
In Stanford’s half of the 4th, Danley resumed after a brief rain delay. Back to back walks began the inning, but a double play put two outs on the board. The Cardinal still had a runner at third, but Danley shut down the possibility of a third run with her fourth strikeout of the day.
TURN US UP‼️‼️Noles turn a double play, and Ashtyn gets a strikeout to get out of the jam🍢📺ESPN2#Team43 pic.twitter.com/D5O5OdGArM
— Florida State Softball 🥎 (@FSU_Softball) April 11, 2026
Still going through a pitcher’s duel, Prystajko was going pitch for pitch with Danley. A two out double from Anna Hinde put a runner in scoring position. After being pinch ran for by Madi Frey, it brought up Kennedy Harp. The ‘Noles capitalized and tied the game at 2-2.
COME THROUGH KENNEDY HARP‼️‼️‼️WE ARE TIED🍢🍢📺ESPN2#Team43 pic.twitter.com/WiqVCieb3d
— Florida State Softball 🥎 (@FSU_Softball) April 11, 2026
After the RBI, Stanford opted for Alyssa Houston in the circle. In relief, Houston got a strikeout to limit the damage to just the one run.
In the bottom of the frame, Danley got a lead off strike out before giving up a walk. A two out double had runners in scoring position for the FSU defense, now facing the top of the lineup. A three run homerun put the Cardinal back in the lead, making ti 5-2.
The first homerun of the day for Stanford ended the day for Danley, subbing in Makenna Reid. A batted ball hitting the runner got the ‘Noles out of the inning, facing three outs to work with.
Houston headed back out to the circle, Hayley Griggs led off with a double. A one out walk of Isa Torres had two on, and Stanford went back to Prystajko. A wild pitch moved the runners up sixty feet and a four pitch walk to Jaysoni Beachum loaded the bases.
A hit by pitch to Marin Heller made it 5-3 for FSU, still with one out, Stanford capitalized on their bullpen yet again. Now facing Anna Brewer, a double from Danley cleared the bases to give FSU their first lead.
6-3 for FSU extended on a passed ball, allowing the pinch runner to score. A two out fielder’s choice put Harp on the bags, and a single from Bella Ruggiero made it 8-5.
Make that 6⃣ runs in the seventh inning🍢🍢📺ESPN2#Team43 pic.twitter.com/z0alEDbbi5