The Knights notch wins over Notre Dame and others

Photo Courtesy of UCF AA

No.25 UCF softball delivered an astronomical performance, finishing the SpaceU Classic 5-1 from Thursday through Sunday at the UCF Softball Complex.

The 25th-ranked Knights (14-4, 0-0 Big 12) suffered their only loss against Penn State Nittany Lions (13-2, 0-0 Big Ten), falling just short 6-5 on Friday night.

Friday: Ohio and Penn State

UCF hit the field in a blaze under the 85-degree Orlando heat, winning its rematch in a 9-1 run-rule victory over the Ohio Bobcats (9-5, 0-0 MAC).

The Knights played an explosive bottom of the third after no action early in the game, starting with an RBI single from senior infielder Aubrey Evans, which brought sophomore infielder Coco Jaimes to home plate.

Sophomore catcher Beth Damon immediately followed with launching her second home run of the series, a two-run shot that began UCF’s offensive spurt.

The Bobcats retaliated after Ohio senior infielder Colleen Bare scored off a wild pitch thrown by freshman pitcher Ava Stuewe, but were shut down by a double play from junior infielder Sierra Humphreys to end the top of the fourth.

Ohio struggled to rally against the Knights’ offensive control as UCF consistently scored two runs off of RBI singles in each inning until the end of the matchup.

Stuewe secured the mound, notching a 3.07 ERA after only surrendering three hits and one run in five innings, while a three-RBI on two hits from Damon made the 5-foot-8 catcher an offensive standout.

UCF returned later in the evening to face Penn St., which suffocated the Knights on both sides of the field as they played six scoreless innings.

The Nittany Lions started the scoring after Penn St. freshman infielder Allison Oneacre reached first base on a fielding error, allowing Penn St. junior infielder Kaylie Walters to score unearned at the top of the third.

Penn St. junior utility players Brooke Klosowicz and Michela Barbanente kept the lead firmly out of the Knights’ reach. At the top of the seventh, the Nittany Lions performed a three-run streak that set the score at 6-0.

But just when it seemed hopeless, UCF began to rally.

Sophomore outfielder Kalista Birkenstock benefited from a double down the right field line from Humphreys to put the first run on the board for UCF.

Two RBI singles from sophomore utility player Kendall Yarnell and junior infielder/outfielder Samantha Rey, followed by an RBI double from Damon, continued the Knights’ offensive stride, putting them at five runs.

The lights shone their brightest as Griffin stepped up to home plate with two outs and two left on base, giving UCF a chance to take the game. But Penn St. freshman pitcher Brevyn Kellepouris snuffed the opportunity, striking out the 5-foot-7 infielder and ending the matchup in the Nittany Lions’ favor 6-5.

UCF surpassed Penn St. on both sides of the field, with an overall hitting of .286 compared to the Nittany Lions’ .231, and a strike percentage of 61.3 to Penn St.’s 60%. But the performance could not garner a win in the end.

“We had to outplay our gloves today and that’s hard to do against a good team,” UCF softball head coach Cindy Ball-Malone said in the postgame conference. “But love the fight in our team. I thought we had put some good swings on pitches, but all day, the outfield was making some good plays on us. So, we’ll just get it going for tomorrow.”

Saturday: Notre Dame

UCF started the matchup trailing the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-9, 0-0 ACC) 2-1, after sophomore utility player Izzy Mertes homered to right-center field kept the Knights in the running at the bottom of the second.

The Knights gained the lead after sophomore utility player Kendall Yarnell came through with a three-run home run two innings later.

“I knew going into the game what my role was going to be: to come off the bench,” Yarnell said in the postgame. “We needed to get the momentum going, and I’ve been in that position a lot. I knew my team had my back and I was able to do it for them.”

Notre Dame could not recover under the defensive pressure of senior pitcher Katelyn Cochran, who allowed only two hits after throwing for 3.1 frames.

“We’ve worked really hard this offseason, focusing on coming into the game in relief like that to do our jobs,” Cochran said in the postgame conference. “That’s been a big motivator of mine: to pave the way for the younger pitchers, and to have them look up to you and know they’re watching what you’re doing really pushes and motivates me.”

Redshirt sophomore Destiny Washington and senior outfielder Carley Jo Penner scored the last two runs of the matchup, clinching a 6-2 victory for the Knights.

“I thought we played some good softball, having to come from behind, especially after last night,” Ball-Malone said in the postgame conference. “We got some clutch hitting and some good defense behind our pitchers. It’s what we talked about that we needed to get better at, and it was a great adjustment.”

Sunday: Notre Dame and Charleston Southern

The Knights and the Fighting Irish reunited under a cloudy Sunday morning to push their luck on the last day of the SpaceU Classic.

Notre Dame started the scoring early, courtesy of its senior outfielder Mickey Winchell scoring on a play from second base after a fielding error by Evans.

Although that would be the last run Notre Dame scored, freshman pitcher/outfielder Hildie Dempsey pitched six shutout innings for the rest of the matchup.

UCF turned the tide at the bottom of the sixth, starting with Mertes finally putting the Knights on the board off a sacrifice fly to right field from Griffin.

Jaimes singled up the middle shortly after, allowing Calvez to score unearned, while Rey sailed to home plate on a fielding error by Notre Dame sophomore infielder Avery Houlihan.

Dempsey returned to the mound with a Knights’ victory in sight at the top of the seventh, striking out two Notre Dame batters back-to-back. Notre Dame junior outfielder Tenley Sweet grounded out to third base, where Jaimes threw to Griffin, which became the final play of the matchup in a 3-1 win for the Knights.

Dempsey owned the mound, finishing with five strikeouts while surrendering three hits and one run, throwing a 1.80 ERA after pitching the entire matchup.

Coming in on a high, UCF faced its last opponent of the series, the Charleston Southern University Buccaneers (3-13, 0-0 Big South).

Charleston Southern managed to score to start the matchup, as a single to shallow right field allowed junior outfielder Blakley Kingsmore to score.

UCF responded right away with two runs, courtesy of Jaimes reaching home plate after Mertes grounded out to shortstop and Evans scoring off of Griffin’s sacrifice fly.

Along the line, freshman outfielder Ayala Durant bolted from second base to home plate after Griffin singled to center field at the bottom of the third.

Heading towards the end of the matchup, Humphreys scored from second base after Rey singled to right-center field. Rey followed with an advancement from first to third base while Clavez scored on a wild pitch.

UCF collectively exceeded on the offensive front, hitting .273 overall compared to Charleston Southern’s .240, and defensively with a strike percentage of 62.9 to the Buccaneers’ 51.8.

“Our pitchers today, we did better with less freebies, but we’re still working,” UCF softball head coach Ball-Malone said in the postgame. “We’re young and it’s still early in the season, so it’s a good sign, but I don’t want us to be satisfied with just our record. We have a lot more improving to go.”

The Knights remain at home, aiming to ruffle the feathers of the Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Owls (12-5, 0-0 ACC) at 5 p.m. on Wednesday at the UCF Softball Complex.