OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – In the teams’ fourth matchup of the 2025 campaign, the UCF softball team jumped out to an early lead, but the second-seeded No. 10 Arizona Wildcats rallied late to take the Phillips 66 Big 12 Softball Championship quarterfinal match from the Knights, 4-3, at Devon Park Thursday evening.
The Black and Gold, bolstered by a strong start in the circle by redshirt freshman Isabella Vega, scored in the top of the second and third innings in their bid for their third win in four tries against the top 10-ranked Wildcats.
After Vega retired the side in order in the home half of the first inning, the Knights kicked off the second frame with three consecutive hits, singles by Ashleigh Griffin, Izzy Mertes and Beth Damon, the last of which Griffin from third base.
Following a sacrifice bunt by Samantha Rey, a fielder’s choice ground ball from freshman Coco Jaimes doubled UCF’s lead when Mertes beat the Wildcat shortstop’s throw to home plate.
With the Knights already leading 2-0, junior shortstop Aubrey Evans tacked on one more in the top of the third, taking newly-minted Big 12 Conference Player of the Year Devyn Netz deep to left field for her 10th home run of the season.
The long ball gave Evans her first career double-digit home run season, and the Apopka native became the first Knight since Jada Cody in 2022 to record such a campaign.
Supported by UCF’s quick lead, Vega authored a trio of scoreless frames in her second start in as many days, retiring nine of Arizona’s first 10 hitters on six groundouts and a pair of strikeouts through the first three innings.
A leadoff triple in the fourth sparked the Wildcats’ offense, though, as the squad cut into UCF’s lead before scoring three more times in the bottom of the fifth to take its 4-3 lead.
UP NEXT
With UCF’s time in Oklahoma City complete, the Knights await their NCAA Tournament fate, to be revealed during Sunday evening’s selection show beginning at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2. With an at-large bid, the Black and Gold would advance to the NCAA Tournament for a fifth consecutive season.
FOLLOW THE KNIGHTS
Follow UCF softball on X (@UCF_Softball), Instagram (@UCF.Softball) and Facebook (/UCFSoftball).
GET THE APP
Never miss any UCF Knights news from your favorite teams by downloading the free UCF Knights app right to your iOS or Android devices. The app provides personalized information for men’s and women’s teams, scores, schedules, loyalty programs and breaking news. Click here to download the app now.