6 things to know about Florida State softball ace pitcher Kathryn Sandercock

The Florida State softball team was facing a second straight flameout in the Tallahassee Regional. The Seminoles had lost 4-0 to South Carolina earlier Sunday, and a loss in the nightcap would mean another disappointing end to the season.

Fortunately, they had Kathryn Sandercock in the circle.

The fifth-year senior made sure FSU wasn't going home in the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament again, hurling a perfect game in a 1-0 win to move the 'Noles on to the Super Regionals. The toughest opponent she faced all day may have been Mother Nature, as a 40-minute rain delay threatened to throw the ACC Pitcher of the Year off her rhythm.

"If this was the last day I'd get to put the jersey on, I wasn't going to go out nervous and eternal," Sandercock said after it was over. "It was freeing. It allowed me to go out there and compete."

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FSU softball fans have been used to Sandercock coming up clutch since she arrived in Tallahassee in 2019. Here are six things to know about the star pitcher:

Kat Sandercock had an 0.09 ERA her junior year in high school

The McLean, Va., native pitched at Bishop O'Connell High School, where former Seminole Lesley Palmer is in the Athletic Hall of Fame. There, Sandercock earned all-state honors as a junior and senior.

In 2017, she was named Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year after compiling a 26-0 record with 330 strikeouts with an ERA of 0.09. She also raked at the plate, batting .471 with 10 doubles, seven triples and eight home runs to go with 57 RBIs.

Kat Sandercock won gold at the 2017 Junior Softball World Championship

That summer, the ace also represented Team USA at the WBSC Junior Women's World Championship in Clearwater, Florida. She played alongside former Florida Gators second baseman Hannah Adams and pitcher Natalie Lugo.

Over seven appearances, Sandercock pitched five innings and had a 1.40 ERA and four strikeouts, giving up four hits and walking none. The Americans went 9-0 en route to winning the gold medal.

Kat Sandercock was FSU softball's ace on run to Women's College World Series

Sandercock immediately made an impact upon coming to Florida State, making the All-ACC Freshman Team in 2019 after going 13-0 with a 1.99 ERA. After the COVID-shortened 2020 season, she came back even better in 2021, finishing 16th in the nation with a 1.25 ERA and fifth with 27 wins. She made the All-ACC first team and the NFCA All-American second team.

The ace kept her strong season going in the NCAA Tournament, throwing three complete games in leading the Seminoles to the Women's College World Series Championship Series. She pitched in all eight games of the WCWS, pitching 31⅓ innings to a 2.01 ERA and allowing 28 hits against 22 strikeouts to earn all-tournament team accolades. In Game 1 of the championship series against Oklahoma, Sandercock locked down the save by pitching 1⅓ shutout innings and allowing two hits.

Kat Sandercock is ACC Pitcher of the Year

This season, Sandercock earned her third straight All-ACC first team honors, adding Pitcher of the Year to her collection. Through Sunday, she was ninth in the NCAA with a 1.11 ERA — though that's only good for second on the team this year, as Makenna Reid has a sterling 0.94 ERA. However, the senior has nearly doubled the freshman's inning count (164⅔ vs. 74⅓).

Sandercock was named ACC Tournament MVP and is hoping to become a first-team All-American for the first time (the NFCA and D1 Softball both named her to their second teams in 2022).

Kat Sandercock also threw a no-hitter in 2023

Sunday was not Sandercock's first run with history this season. On March 17, she tossed a five-inning no-no in a 10-0 win vs. Syracuse.

The first Orange runner reached base via error, and Sandercock walked a batter in the fifth, and that was the extent of damage against her that day. Just like she did against USC, Sandercock kept Syracuse on the dirt all day, with 11 of the 15 outs recorded via the ground ball (the Seminoles turned one double play to end the game).

She had also been part of a combined no-hitter on Feb. 20, 2022, when she pitched four perfect innings in a start against UCF.

Kat Sandercock throws first perfect game in college

Sandercock's masterpiece came Sunday, May 21, in a winner-take-all NCAA Tournament game against South Carolina. She struck out five and needed just 59 pitches to notch her first collegiate perfect game. The only ball that left the infield was a foulout by Jordan Fabian to lead off the fourth inning.

Sandercock's last perfecto came in 2018, when she was a senior in high school.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Kathryn Sandercock: 6 things to know about FSU softball pitcher