May 16, 1998

STILLWATER, Okla. - Shane Anderson made a game-saving defensive play in the eighth inning and Jenni Shideler drove in the winning run in the ninth as top-seeded Stanford eliminated third seed Florida State with a 1-0 win in the NCAA Softball Regional here Saturday.

Shideler, who went 2-for-3 in the game, singled to score March Crouch (who also had two hits in the game) from second with the game's only run, and Florida State was unable to mount a significant threat in the bottom half of the inning.

But the Seminoles nearly won the game in the eighth, when FSU's Teresa Edenfield hit a rocket down the third-base line with runners on first and second and no one out. Anderson dove to her right to make an outstanding backhanded stop, stepped on third and threw to first to record a double play and end FSU's threat.

"I don't remember it," said Anderson, who was playing even with the bag on the play. "It just felt great. There were two strikes on the hitter, so the tendency for her to bunt would be close to nothing hopefully. So I just kind of played the percentages and had extra reaction time and a little more range."

Shideler's RBI made a winner of Becky Blevins (24-9), who went the distance, scattering eight hits and walking two. FSU's Jennifer White (26-8), making her first appearance since late March, also allowed eight hits in nine innings of work but took the loss.

Stanford now meets Southwest Missouri State, which defeated the Cardinal 5-2 Friday evening, in a 7 p.m. game Saturday. The winner of that game advances to Sunday's championship game at 1 p.m. against Oklahoma State.

Stanford 1, Florida State 0 (9 innings)

Stanford       000 000 001 -- 1 8 1
Florida State  000 000 000 -- 0 8 1

Blevins and Wiginton; White and Hull. 
W - Blevins (24-9). L - White (26-8).