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By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

Heard County graduate Anna Shelnutt and the Florida State Seminoles are two wins away from another national championship.

During the 2018 season when Shelnutt was a sophomore, Florida State beat Washington to win the Women’s College World Series.

During that postseason, Shelnutt was one of Florida State’s top players with five home runs and 15 RBIs.

In the championship series against Washington, Shelnutt hit home runs in both games.

Flash forward three years, and Shelnutt and the Seminoles are back on the big stage.

Florida State will play Oklahoma in a best-of-three series with a softball championship on the line, and game one is Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in Oklahoma City.

Florida State lost its opening game in the World Series, but it has won four straight elimination games since then, and it beat Alabama 8-5 on Monday to advance to the title series.

Shelnutt didn’t have any hits in Monday’s game, but she was steady as always at the all-important catcher position.

For the season, Shelnutt is hitting .213 with six home runs and 25 RBIs, and she has started all 59 games.

Shelnutt was a senior on the 2020 team, and that season was cut short because of COVID-19.

Because of an NCAA ruling, players who participated in a spring sport in 2020 didn’t lose a year of eligibility, so Shelnutt and a handful of her teammates were eligible to return for the 2021 season.

Shelnutt, Dani Morgan and Cassidy Davis each took advantage of the ruling to come back for one more season, and now they’re two wins from a title.