MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Two days, two late rallies, two wins in Memphis.
For the second time in as many days, the (RV) UCF softball team rode a late offensive surge to a win against the host Memphis Tigers, clinching the series victory and its 35th win of the season Saturday afternoon with its 6-3 victory at Tigers Softball Complex.
The win marked the team's ninth in a row, marking a new season-long win streak, and its 16th in its last 17 overall dating back to its 3-2 win over North Florida March 29. The Knights (35-19, 14-3 AAC) also locked up their fifth series win in six total series against conference opponents in 2023 with the winning effort.
For the second straight game, the team also relied upon junior right-hander Grace Jewell to record crucial outs down the stretch, keeping UCF in the contest until its offense gained late traction in the top of the seventh inning.
The Chesapeake, Virginia, native entered in relief of fellow righty Kaitlyn Felton, who had cruised through her first two innings before the Tigers offense rallied in the third.
With the Knights holding a 2-0 lead thanks in part to a first-inning Shannon Doherty double, her third of the season that provided her 37th RBI of the campaign and the 125th of her four-plus year career, Memphis plated a trio of runs in the third on the strength of two singles, two walks and a fielder's choice, giving the home 10 a 3-2 advantage.
Jewell calmed the storm the rest of the way, yielding little else throughout the contest's final five innings. She collected her first strikeout of the afternoon in a scoreless fourth before again working around a single in the fifth, and moments later spinning a perfect sixth inning.
The Knights at the plate, meanwhile, tied the game in the fifth thanks to a Memphis error on a Chloe Evans ground ball that allowed Kennedy Searcy to score from second base.
After Jada Cody's seventh-inning solo home run that tied the game at two runs apiece Friday evening, the junior utility player came through in the seventh once again Saturday afternoon, breaking the 3-3 tie with a triple down the right field line that sent Searcy home once more.
The three-bagger marked the eighth of her career and fourth of the season, and marked her second straight game with an RBI after snapping a nine-game drought dating back to her three-run home run during the Knights' series-opener against the ECU Pirates March 31.
Evans came through moments later with an RBI single to right field that plated Cody, representing an insurance run that pushed UCF's advantage to 5-3, and designated player Savannah Adams added the Knights' sixth run on a sacrifice fly.
Evans' RBI single extended her career-long hit streak to 14 consecutive games, and the junior transfer has now driven in five runs in her last four games to push her season RBI total to 43 to claim a share of sixth-most in a single season in program history with Hillary Barrow (2010) and Jania Shinhoster (2002).
Jewell took the circle once again in the bottom of the seventh and stranded a two-out single to complete her five-inning relief appearance that awarded the junior her 12th win of the season.
Saturday's victory snapped a string of eight consecutive games that had seen the Knights yield two runs or fewer, but the team has still combined to post a 0.98 ERA (64 IP, 9 ER) in its last nine games dating back to UCF's 13-1 win over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane April 16. Sarah Willis' 0.79 ERA (35.1 IP, 4 ER) leads the team in that span, with Jewell's even 1.00 ERA (21 IP, 3 ER) representing a close second.
UP NEXT
The Knights will go for the series sweep of the Tigers, as well as their 10th straight win, in the regular season finale Sunday afternoon. First pitch from Tiger Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
