7 Innings with FSU’s Jessie Warren
Jessie Warren has had a legendary career for the Florida State softball program. The senior from Tampa, Florida has been part of three ACC Regular season and Conference Tournament Championships with the Seminoles. Warren has made appearances in three NCAA Tournaments and in the Women’s College World Series in 2016. Warren is a two-time All-American (2016,2017), was the ACC player of the year (2017) and was Top 10 USA Softball National Player of the Year Finalist in 2017. She has also been rewriting the Seminoles record book throughout much if her career.
On March 30th at Georgia Tech, Warren launched a three-run home run in the fourth inning, her 10th HR of the season and the 72nd of her career, moving into a tie for 17th in NCAA history with Hawaii’s Kelly Maja (2010-13). It also made Warren the All-Time leader in Home Runs in the state of Florida, passing Florida’s Lauren Haeger and UCF’s Stephanie Best.
On our latest edition of “7 Innings” we get to know Warren on how she ended up at Florida State and her reaction to becoming the All-Time HR queen in the state of Florida.
T4 10-1 FSU | SEE YA! Warren crushes a three-run HR to center, her 72nd HR of her career! pic.twitter.com/wo9GxY1LrM
— FSU Softball (@FSU_Softball) March 30, 2018
Eric Lopez (ELO)– What influenced you to play Softball?
Jessie Warren– “When I was really young, my brother just took me outside and we swung the bat one day. Then my mom put me into T-ball and I just kept playing baseball from there. I just enjoyed playing sports and obviously at a young age you don’t know what you like until you grow up a bit. So I think it took a few years to realize I really loved playing baseball and then it all grew from there. I probably played my first game of softball when I was 10, and then played baseball and softball from 10-14 and transitioned completely over to softball in high school. There wasn’t much of a difference in how to play the game, as the two sports are really similar. But I remember in my first game of softball, a ball was hit to me at shortstop and I threw it to first base underhand. I just got done playing baseball at that park and the team needed an extra player, and I thought that since the pitcher threw it underhanded that everyone was supposed to. So it was fun to learn the differences of the two sports and it has been awesome playing softball since.”
ELO– What was the deciding factor in coming to Florida State?
Warren– “Well, Florida State was the only school that offered me a scholarship, so I had a pretty easy recruiting process. The coaching staff is phenomenal here. Just talking to them on the phone and coming on my unofficial and official visits, I understood what they were talking about and I knew that I wanted to come and buy in to what they were teaching. It’s been really fun learning their philosophies and how they play the game of softball. It is a really big family here and it’s a family away from home. I’m a big family person, so it has been great to be here with my “sisters” and “mom and dads”.”
ELO– You say in your bio you wear No. 30 because of Steph Curry. What made Curry your favorite athlete to look up to?
Warren– “I just love how he plays and feel like we are two similar athletes. He is very aggressive in his game of basketball, just like I am in softball. I love his playing style and his family as well. I watch their videos and Ayesha Curry’s cooking videos and they just have a great family. I just really like him as a person and an athlete and it has been fun watching him play.”
ELO– Your bio states you enjoy watching One Tree Hill. Who is your favorite character on One Tree Hill and were you rooting for Lucas to end up with Peyton or Brooke (spoilers)?
Warren– “My favorite character was Nathan. I was rooting for Lucas to be with Brooke at first, but I liked Lucas and Peyton’s relationship together, too. I like how Brooke had her own fashion line and she knew what she was doing with her life, but I don’t watch One Tree Hill that much anymore.”
ELO– What did you learn from playing with Maddie O’Brien and Alex Powers that helped you in your career and that you hope to pass along to future Nole hitters?
Warren– “Alex Powers taught me a lot mentally. She went through a lot of injuries while she was here and taught me to enjoy every moment and give everything I can because it can be taken away at any second. I’ve really embraced that and have kept it in mind. I’m just trying to enjoy the present and play the game because a lot of people don’t get to play the game at this level. Maddie O’Brien has pushed me to be who I am today. If I hadn’t played with her and seen how hard she worked, I don’t think I would be doing as well as I am right now. She was a great leader and taught me a lot. She taught me how to be aggressive on the field because my freshman year I was terrified of her at shortstop. I didn’t want to steal a ball in the 5-6 hole, because I was afraid she’d get mad at me or something. There was a point during my freshman year that she just told me, “Get whatever you can get”. And from then on, I started being a vacuum cleaner on the left side. They’ve both been great players here at Florida State and had great careers here. It was fun getting to play with them during the time we were here together.”
ELO– You hit your 72nd HR at Georgia Tech on March 30th. It is the most home runs ever hit by any player in the state of Florida breaking a tie with Florida’s Lauren Haeger and UCF’s Stephanie Best. What does it mean to you to know that not only are you the All-Time HR leader at FSU, but in the entire state of Florida?
Warren- “First of all, Lauren Haeger and Stephanie Best are great players. I watched them as I was growing up and they are amazing athletes, Lauren pitched really well and could swing it really well, and Stephanie had a good bat too. As for the record, I think it is pretty cool when you are just there playing to have fun and not worrying about stats and how you are doing. When you are enjoying the moment and doing it with people you love around you, it becomes easy because they make it easy. I think that’s really what I do. You can get into those lulls of not getting hits and things like that, but when you take a step back and realize you are playing a game you love, it is pretty easy to have fun out there.”
ELO– In your bio you say you want to get into coaching softball after your career is done. What has it been like playing for Head Coach Lonni Alameda and her staff of Travis Wilson and Craig Snider? What lessons will you take with you when you go into coaching that you learned from them?
Warren– “All three of them – Coacha, TWil and Snider – have been huge influences on me wanting to become a coach. It is impossible to put into words what they all do as coaches, but to me, they are the best coaching staff in the Nation. They not only care about you on the field, but also off the field. They want you to leave the program as a better person, not just a better player, which I think is awesome to have coaches like that. It isn’t all about softball, softball, softball. It’s about how are you going to become a better woman, a better mother in the future, a better sister, better teammate or anything else. Their philosophy with the game is great and it’s cool to come in and buy into what they teach. The learning curve from freshman year to senior year is huge, and it’s because of the way they teach the game. It’s something I plan to take with me into my coaching career in the future.”
Warren hopes to finish her Seminole career by going 4-for-4 in ACC Championships and finish her career at the Women’s College World Series.
Feature image provided by: Florida State Athletics
