Feb. 21, 2015
UCF Athletics Social Media Directory
By Megan Herboth
UCFKnights.com
HONOLULU, Hawaii (UCFKnights.com) - The No. 19 UCF softball team came up short in a thriller against No. 16/17 Washington, falling 4-3 in the Bank of Hawaii Invitational opener on Friday afternoon. The Knights dropped their first game of the season, and stand at 8-1 overall.
"We knew against Washington it would be a very tough competition for us," UCF head coach Renee Luers-Gillispie said. "Of their four hits, three of them were home runs. There's not a lot you can do in that situation. Knowing that we can go head-to-head against them was a big part of this game. I'm proud of the kids on how they stepped up."
Junior Shelby Turnier tossed a complete game, giving up four runs on four hits with a walk and five strikeouts in her first loss in the circle this season.
The Knights faced their largest deficit of the season in the bottom of the third as Washington used a pair of hits to take a 2-0 lead. UCF opened the fourth with back-to-back hits by juniors Jessica Ujvari and Samantha McCloskey. A wild pitch advanced pinch runners Megan Greenwell and Andrea Neswiacheny to second and third for junior Kalyn Cenal. She lined out to center field, but scored Greenwell as the Knights cut the Husky lead in half.
Two innings later, Cenal became the fourth Knight to homer this season, giving the Knights the go-ahead in the sixth. McCloskey drew a walk with one out to put a runner on for Cenal, whose two-run blast to left center put UCF on top, 3-2.
In the bottom of the inning, a solo home run from Ali Aguilar knotted the game at 3-3. With one out, Kylee Lahners sent a 1-1 pitch out to center field where senior Maddy Schroeder reached over to rob Lahners of the home run.
"It was a high-hit ball, so I was really just trying to feel and find the fence," Schroeder said. "Once I found it, I realized that it was going over so I just did a little hop to make sure that I had it."
Kimberlee Souza followed the almost-home run with a high shot over the left field fence to regain the lead for the Huskies.
The Knights did not go down without a fight in the seventh. Senior Kahley Novak laid down a bunt and raced down the line to put the tying run on base. Down to their final out, Ujvari and McCloskey drew walks to load the bases. Cenal flied out to left field to end the game and give UCF its first loss of the season.
UCF Softball, which is presented by City Kia, is back in action at the Bank of Hawaii Invitational on Saturday. The Knights face UTEP at 4 p.m. ET before taking the field against host Hawaii at 9 p.m. ET.