Kassim: Florida State, Florida matchup shows the growth of college softball as a sport

Anticipation for the Florida State-Florida softball game was clear Wednesday.

One hour before the first pitch, fans draped in garnet and gold, as well as those in blue and orange, waited for the gates of JoAnne Graf Field to open at 5 p.m. The line stretched beyond the right-center field fence and the new $1 million scoreboard.

The game did not disappoint the 1,836 fans in attendance, as the No. 4 Seminoles won their fourth straight game in the series with a 5-3 win over No. 15 Florida.

"I got here before four and there were already people lining up," FSU football and men's basketball radio voice Jeff Culhane said.

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The crowd was the third largest all-time at JoAnne Graff and the largest since 2018. FSU football coach Mike Norvell and former FSU softball coach JoAnne Graff, a familiar face at home games, attended.

The atmosphere was electric.

Texas A&M transfer Katie Dack ran behind home plate to celebrate with the fans during a three-run fourth inning that propelled the Seminoles to victory.

"We had an awesome crowd," FSU coach Lonni Alameda said. "Just to see everyone on the parking garage to probably six deep on the street to our little deck out there. It was just loaded with people. It was special and cool.

"There were a lot of familiar faces. I think that's what's so cool, we're so connected with our fans."

The Seminoles moved to 13-6 against ranked teams this season. They are 3-2 in neutral sites against ranked teams and 9-4 on the road.

The win over the Gators was the first one played against a ranked opponent at home.

"We've had moments on the road which have been very overwhelming and maybe a little tight feeling of people yelling at you on the road and now it's that time to have that feeling at home with the 'war chant' and that home crowd feel," Alameda said.

Last year's FSU-UF game had 1,764 fans in attendance in Tallahassee and the 2019 contest had 1,818. Both were higher compared to the 230 in attendance in 2021 due to COVID restrictions.

For some of the Seminoles' players, the size of the crowd even made them emotional.

"It was amazing," FSU senior shortstop Josie Muffley said. "In that last inning, I had to take a step back to take it all in. I stepped back and started tearing up. I had to tell myself, 'Come on Josie, refocus, we have to get a couple of more outs.'

"It was electric and I am going to miss that."

FSU (40-8, 16-2 ACC) returns to action with a three-game series against Notre Dame (29-13-1, 11-9-1) in South Bend, Indiana, starting Friday.

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Softball growth in Florida

The Seminoles' win put a dent into the 20-28 all-time record against their rivals.

The winning streak for FSU is the longest since it won five in a row between April 5, 2000 to April 17, 2022.

The two teams square off against each other next week in Gainesville.

"Florida always comes out and tries to compete with us as well," Muffley said. "Being a midweek, it's always tough and coming out to play a game. We played great, we knew there was going to be a huge matchup today, so we brought all of our tools and played to our game."

The crowd Wednesday was a culmination of the efforts softball coaches in Florida have put forth to build softball in the state.

The Gators won back-to-back College Softball World Series in 2014-15 before FSU took home the honors in 2018.

UCF and USF have seen improvements in the past few years, too. Miami does not have a softball program.

"A lot of players in the state of Florida have a lot of options to go to really great schools," Alameda said. "That only happens by us, them [Florida], UCF, USF, only getting better and giving these girls a chance to play in this state.

"I'm very proud of what Tim [Walton] and I have done, and what Cindy [Ball-Malone] has done at UCF because I think that makes us better as competitors and the state better at recruiting."

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Jeff Culhane and Ariya Massoudi call the game for the radio

Seminole Sports Network announced in March it would broadcast three FSU softball games on the radio this season for the first time since 2018.

The first game was called by Jack Kavovit on April 26 vs. Georgia Tech. Culhane and Ariya Massoudi called the game Wednesday against the Gators on 96.5 FM.

Trevor DeGroot will have the call on May 5 against Louisville.

"When the announcement was made about what my role would be, this was kind of one of the things I had in mind," Culhane said. "We can add a little bit more. We're just scratching the surface with some of the different items that we can bring and shine the light on the great success stories of Florida State sports and student-athletes and coaches everywhere."

Culhane replaced Gene Deckerhoff the voice of FSU football and men's basketball on the radio for nearly 50 years last July.

While he has voiced FSU football and men's basketball so far, this was his first crack this year at softball.

"I knew it would be amazing because Florida State fans are just second to none," Culhane said. "And when it comes to this rivalry, when it comes to this game, that's what college athletics are all about.

"We talked about it on the air and we said we're not surprised, but still just so impressed by the energy the atmosphere of what this game brings."

Massoudi calls women's basketball games as well as play-by-play coverage on television on ACC Network across different sports at FSU.

"I just hope that this is something that grows, and obviously I think it's been a success so far this season," Massoudi said. "Again the program deserves it more than anything to have radio coverage. All the big-time programs do. And so Lonnie deserves that."

Alameda who is in her 15th season as the FSU head coach is appreciative of how the game can be spread to fans spread across the country.

"As we grow a fanbase, I know my mom in California is so excited to listen or watch or do whatever," Alameda said. "I think of Avery (Weisbrook) and her family out in California or Makenna (Reid) from Oregon.

"So we're reaching far and wide, however, we can do that it's great. Again, we're grateful for more outlets to get this game out to more people."

FSU at Notre Dame

When: Friday, 6 p.m.; Saturday, 2 p.m.; Sunday, noon

Where: Melissa Cook Stadium; South Bend, Indiana

TV: Friday, ACC Network; Saturday-Sunday, ACC Network Extra

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: Seminoles softball: Florida State, Florida show the growth of sport