ORLANDO, Fla. – A strong weekend throughout the 2023 Knights Classic tournament hosted at the UCF Softball Complex ended on a sour note for the No. 22 UCF softball team, as the Knights saw their four-game win streak snapped by the (RV) Louisville Cardinals, 15-5, Sunday afternoon.
UCF (9-8, 0-0 AAC) entered the day undefeated in the tournament, going 4-0 in two games against the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs, its first contest against the Cardinals, and the Purdue Boilermakers. Louisville's (10-4, 0-0 ACC) fast offensive start and a strong appearance from Cardinals starter Alyssa Zabala, though, proved too tall a hill for the Knights to climb.
Left-hander Angelina DeVoe, making the second start of her collegiate career and the first since April 3, 2021 at Tulsa during her freshman season, made quick work of Louisville in the top of the first inning, retiring three of the four hitters she faced and working around a one-out double.
The Cardinals quickly struck for four runs in the top of the second inning against DeVoe and right-hander Grace Jewell, a rally that was answered by one Knights run in the home half of the frame.
Freshman utility infielder Aubrey Evans, who has played her way into the starting lineup throughout the last week with hits in three of her previous four games, including a two-hit night Saturday against Purdue, swatted the first triple of her collegiate career off the right field wall. She later scored on a bunt single by junior utility player Katie Burge, who after reaching first safely continued toward second in an effort to draw the defense away from Evans.
Following her 1-for-3 day, Evans has now hit safely in four of her last five games and represents the team's third-leading hitter over its last seven contests, with a .385/.556/.615 (5-for-13) line, two extra-base hits (one double and one triple) and eight total bases.
Savannah Adams continued her recent stretch of standout play with a 1-for-2 showing that included an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning. Adams tied her career-long five-game hit streak with the base hit and finished the week as the Knights' leading hitter. In UCF's last seven games, Adams appeared in six and started five, hitting .583/.583/1.417 (7-for-12) with four extra-base hits (one double and three home runs) six RBI and 17 total bases.
UCF made a bit of offensive noise in the bottom of the fifth inning as well, loading the bases for right fielder Chloe Evans. The Seymour, Wisconsin, native worked the count even at 2-2 before lining Zabala's offering down the left field line. The drive plated all three runs and awarded Chloe her second triple in as many games.
Chloe has now reached base safely in six consecutive games dating back to UCF's midweek tilt at Stetson and has hit safely in four straight. Through 17 games, she is also the Knights' leading hitter overall, with a .360 average and an OPS of 1.169, 11 extra-base hits (six doubles, two triples and three home runs) 16 RBI and 37 total bases.
UP NEXT
The Knights will have three days to reset and recover from their Sunday defeat before embarking on a trip to Fullerton, California, to partake in the 2023 Judi Garmin Classic.
Next week, the Knights will again match up with top-tier competition that includes the UCLA Bruins, the consensus No. 1 team in the nation, and the Michigan Wolverines, who received votes in the latest NFCA/USA Today top 25. UCF will open the tournament against Fresno State Thursday afternoon, with first pitch from Anderson Family Field slated for 3:30 p.m. ET.