It’s JB vs. UGA in OKC!

For the first time, it’s Jessica Burroughs vs. The University of Georgia.

While the Bulldogs stunned the NCAA softball world eliminating two-time defending national champion and No. 1 ranked Florida in a two-game Super Regional sweep in Gainesville, Florida State held serve on its home field vs. Utah in Tallahassee to reach the Women’s College World Series starting Thursday in Oklahoma City. That matches up Florida State with UGA on opening day and gives Burroughs, the Houston County High redshirt junior, her first opportunity to face the biggest school from her home state.

It’s already been a season where Burroughs, the No. 1 Seminole pitcher for the first time in her career, turned that opportunity in the front seat of her team’s rotation into one accolade after another. She is the 2016 Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year and stands at 27-5 with an earned run average of 1.93. Burroughs has thrown 184 2/3 innings with 227 strikeouts, 58 walks, 58 runs allowed and 112 hits allowed.

“I think the cool thing about going back to the World Series is that we have been there,” said Burroughs speaking by phone with the Houston Home Journal Monday. In Burroughs’ redshirt freshman year, Florida State reached Oklahoma City only to go 0-2. Last season, FSU fell short though Burroughs was the Most Valuable Player of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

“There are girls on the team who have been there, been in the environment. We are ready to take the next step and know we are prepared this time. Last time it was a bit like star struck. We know we can go on a run this time … put up a fight and make a run for the national title like we set out to do back in August.”

To make one correction, Burroughs did pitch against the Georgia Bulldogs … in a fall scrimmage. But she’s never faced Lu Harris-Champer’s squad in a game that’s counted, and nothing can count more than staying out of the loser’s bracket of the World Series at the start. Burroughs isn’t going to approach this game any different because of her home state connections.

“It’s another team, another jersey over there,” she said. “It is awesome. It was a bit of a shock (when Georgia beat Florida). They are a great ball club and we can’t take them lightly. We are going to come out swinging. They have great pitching. It’s great competition. We have to take the game, respect it, and play our game.”

Burroughs described playing in a scrimmage setting as not being at “your best.” Offensively, Georgia’s numbers rank among the best – if not the best – in the entire nation. The Bulldogs hit .348 as a team, fifth in the NCAA, Tina Iosefa’s 23 home runs are tied for the national lead, and her 86 RBI are first by nine.

“The big thing is to really get loose, get a good game plan for the big RBI (producers), just throw my game and make sure everything’s working,” said Burroughs. “The mindset is to take a deep breath before each pitch and trust the defense playing behind me. We’ve been playing so well lately. I think it’s our best against their best.”

This is Burroughs’ fourth year in the Seminole program, the first one she sat out as a redshirt. Being from Warner Robins, it’s bound to come up just where UGA was in her recruiting list while at Houston County High. She said she certainly liked what Georgia had to offer a softball player, but her top priority was to venture outside her home state.

“I really wanted to get away and experience something new,” said Burroughs. “(Georgia) was definitely there, but not too high up there. It wasn’t anything to do with their ball club, their coaches or their atmosphere. My mom went there and I had friends go there. I think Florida State was a great pick for me. Georgia would have been awesome, but I don’t think it was the place for me.”

Burroughs didn’t have to go to FSU and be the ‘ace.’ She was the sidekick of shorts to Lacey Waldrop for two years, and when 2015 ended Burroughs knew her shot at that ‘ace’ status was beginning. The first thing she thinks of about having that role is how she can be what Waldrop was to her.

“The cool thing about being No. 1 is I get to help Meghan King (redshirt freshman) and share with her my experiences,” said Burroughs. “Being here as long as I have around all the players and coaching staff, it’s given me the experience to be calmer out there. I had some big shoes to fill. Lacey was amazing in the circle, and she helped me along the way. I was prepared to take her spot.

“Meghan has been huge pitching a lot of innings for us. It eased up on my arm. I’m not as tired as I probably would be. It’s been cool teaching her.

“It’s been an up and down ride. There were those pressure moments I might not have been in last year but I’m in this year, being able to work through those and get the ball a lot more, to grow as a pitcher.”

And how did Burroughs grow as a pitcher?

“I really strived over the summer to get that off-speed pitch,” she said. “I have it in my back pocket if I need it. I really got the drop ball to work for me and transitioning from not just having the curve ball. Last year I threw a ton of curve balls. It’s my best pitch and works well for me. Being able to broaden the variety of pitches I can throw, that’s been huge. Now I have my off speed pitch, my curve, which is a bit slower; then I have my hard drop ball. That’s what’s taken me to the next level, transitioning between those three pitches and doing it confidently.

“There have been moments where it’s, ‘What am I doing?’ There are also moments when I feel super great. It’s taking each game as it is. This team has been so much fun. The bats are hot. It’s fun to win, of course, but it’s this team and the chemistry we have … and being able to relax and enjoy the game for what it is. That’s what this season’s been all about.”

On April 13, Burroughs became a Top 25 finalist for the 2016 USA Softball Collegiate National Player of the Year by The Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball. NCAA All-American honors are expected to come out in conjunction with the World Series. Burroughs does have no-hitters to her credit, three in her FSU career.

This season, she defeated Bradley in five innings on Feb. 27 with no hits, one walk and four strikeouts. During NCAA Regional play she recorded 14 strikeouts to no-hit Florida A&M.

Burroughs has been close in numerous other outings. She allowed one base hit in 12 appearances.

In a streak of seven appearances from Feb. 24 to March 8, Burroughs did not allow more than one hit in any game. She did not allow a run over a span of 26.1 innings, including eight appearances from Florida A&M on Feb. 24 to the second inning against Cal Poly on March 12.

Facing that Florida team that was ranked No. 1 on April 13, Burroughs pitched a career-high 10 1/3 innings giving up three hits with nine strikeouts.

While this is Burroughs’ first ever start vs. Georgia, she already knows what it’s like to face three other teams in the World Series field. She dropped decisions to Auburn and Michigan, even though she struck out eight batters with no walks in five innings against Michigan. On March 4 in California, she took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and defeated UCLA 3-0.

“It’s been great to play those teams,” said Burroughs. “We have information on them. We’ll be smarter the next time we play them, be on our A-game and know how to attack the hitters.

“We are ready. We’re relaxed. We are ready to play Florida State softball. I think you are going to see great things from this ball club.”

Burroughs owns one more season of college eligibility. Some of the players she will face in Oklahoma City were drafted by National Pro Fastpitch teams in mid-April. While there’s a change-up in her back pocket, does a professional playing career reside in the back of her mind?

“I never know. I could be,” she responded to that inquiry. “I’m one of those who goes with the wind. It could if it approaches me. If not, I’m ready to do whatever life gives me. That would be cool to do, continue softball post college.”

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