April 18, 2015
UCF Athletics Social Media Directory
By Megan Herboth
UCFKnights.com
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (UCFKnights.com) -- For the first time in program history, UCF Softball has repeated as conference champions. A 6-1 victory over Memphis on Saturday gave the No. 15 Knights a share of the American Athletic Conference title.
UCF (43-6, 14-1 AAC), who won its first regular season championship in 2014, earned its fourth conference title under head coach Renee Luers-Gillispie, who started the program in 2002. The Knights have an opportunity to clinch the title outright with a Tulsa loss, or a win in the USF series at the UCF Softball Complex on May 2-3.
"It's exciting to be in this position right now," Gillispie said. "I know we still have a lot of games left in the season, but coming out here and being able to take three games against Memphis was a great experience for our girls." Senior Mackenzie Audas fanned eight batters in the complete-game win. She walked just one and Memphis' lone run of the game was unearned.
UCF opened the game with a leadoff single from sophomore Linnea Goodman. A passed ball and sacrifice bunt put Goodman on first and a walk put runners on the corners for the Knights. Goodman put the Knights in front early as she stole home.
The Knights added an insurance run in the top of the third. Senior Farrah Sullivan opened the inning with a four-pitch walk, and moved to second on a base hit from sophomore Brittany Solis. A double steal put the pair on second and third and a sacrifice fly allowed Sullivan to score and extend UCF's lead to 2-0.
UCF's lead increased to 3-0 in the top of the fifth. After extending the inning with a base hit and a stolen base, Solis came around to score. An errant throw allowed her to avoid the tag as she slid into home.
Memphis hit back-to-back singles to open the bottom of the sixth. A sacrifice fly allowed the Tigers to cut into UCF's lead, making it a 3-1 game.
Senior Kahley Novak opened the seventh inning with a single up the middle and then stole second. Sullivan drew her third walk of the game to give the Knights a pair of runners. The duo advanced on a fly out and a wild pitch scored Novak, pushing the UCF advantage to 4-1.
Junior Jessica Ujvari, working a full count with a runner on third and one out in the top of the seventh, hit her second home run of the weekend. Her eighth homer of the season extended UCF's lead to 6-1.
Junior Samantha McCloskey caught a foul pop-up to retire Memphis' first batter in the bottom of the inning and Audas closed the game with a pair of strikeouts to give UCF the sweep of the Tigers.
UCF Softball, which is presented by City Kia of Greater Orlando, returns to action with a single game against UNF on April 25 at the UCF Softball Complex. First pitch for the Strikeout Cancer game is scheduled for 2 p.m.