Déjà vu?: Watch Josie Muffley's double play clinch FSU's victory over Washington in WCWS

One play turned from disaster to miraculous for Florida State softball Saturday at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium.

Shortstop Josie Muffley went airborne to rob Madison Huskey of a potential single in a close game with a leaping grab in the top of the seventh. She caught the ball, whirled and doubled off pinch-runner Megan Vandegrift to send No. 3 FSU to a 3-1 victory over No. 7 Washington in the 2023 NCAA Softball Women's College World Series.

It was the second time in nearly five years that FSU made a sensational defensive play against Washington in the WCWS that went viral. In Game 1 in 2018, FSU third baseman Jessie Warren made a diving catch near the pitcher's circle on a bunt attempt and doubled off a runner.

“I was going to do everything I could do for my pitcher,” Muffley said in her postgame ESPN interview. “(Kathryn Sandercock) was pitching her butt off.”

Sandercock shared her admiration for her teammate's sensational play.

"Josie is so athletic," Sandercock added. "Athleticism for her to get up that high. To have the wherewithal to throw it to second base and get the double play, she's just an incredible athlete, a great teammate and definitely has a great softball IQ. I have so much trust in her playing."

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The highlight reel play helped FSU reach 2-0 in the Women's College World Series for the first time in program history. The Seminoles will play the winner of Tennessee-Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. Monday in the semifinals.

They need one win to reach the WCWS Championship Series for the first time since 2021.

None of Muffley's teammates were surprised by her play.

"Josie makes those in practice," FSU outfielder Kalei Harding said. "As we can see on the field, too. It's great to see her on the biggest stage making those same plays."

FSU won the 2018 National Championship, the only one in program history, when it defeated the Huskies.

Muffley's play will act as a momentum boost for the Seminoles moving forward.

"I would say personally in that situation, I've seen it so many times," FSU second baseman Devyn Flaherty said. "Not like I would have been disappointed if she didn't make it, but I knew she was going to make it. I was like, Throw it to me, we got to get the double play here."

"It's cool it's routine for her, then on to the next play. Getting the momentum there was huge."

The Huskies trailed all game but mounted comebacks that ultimately fell short in the sixth and seventh innings of Sandercock.

"It was competitive," Washington head coach Heather Tarr said. "Obviously by the end, how it was celebrated, I think the other team knew where we were at and how tough we were to beat. It was a tough ballgame."

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Déjà vu

None of the current players were on the team when the Seminoles defeated Washington in 2018 when FSU beat Washington 1-0 in Game 1 of the WCWS Championship Series.

In that game, Warren made a diving catch on a bunt attempt with no outs in the bottom of the seventh inning and doubled off the Husky runner at first.

While the play wasn't the game-clincher for the Seminoles in that go-around, it did strike a similarity for FSU head coach Lonni Alameda.

"I think our left side, they have a lot of short gamers, a lot of kids that kind of slap," Alameda said. "It gives us the opportunity to maybe cheat a little bit in some of those. That's a little bit of what Jessie did in the situation in the national championship series.

"Yeah, no, it's not an inspirational speech at all. Josie is Josie, for sure."

Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU softball: Josie Muffley's web gem leads Seminoles over Washington