March 4, 2016
Final Stats
No. 25 UCF - Middle Tennessee | No. 25 UCF - La Salle Stats
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - Back-to-back shutouts helped No. 25 UCF Softball extend its winning streak to six straight games on Friday evening. The Knights opened the UCF Tournament with a 2-0 win over Middle Tennessee and closed the night with a 9-0 victory in five innings against La Salle.
Every day we talk about winning one pitch at a time, one play at a time, one at-bat at a time, volunteer assistant coach Horace Smith said. Right now I just really think that we are coming into our own.
Senior Jessica Ujvari went 3-for-3 against Middle Tennessee, and drove in UCF's second run. Senior Shelby Turnier fanned six to earn the win. She claimed sole possession of third place on UCF's all-time pitching wins with 63 career victories.
Ujvari delivered for the Knights in the nightcap, going 2-for-2 with a three-run homer. Junior Manami Calixto tossed a two-hit game, striking out three in her fourth win of the season.
"Being at home gives us that momentum to want to make our fans proud, as well as this organization," Ujvari said. "We come out and we try to give our best each pitch in each game. That's what we did tonight, and we're looking forward to doing more."
Shutting Out The Blue Raiders
* The Knights jumped on Middle Tennessee early, scoring in the bottom of the first. Junior Linnea Goodman put UCF up 1-0 as she stole home.
* Jessica Ujvari added to Black and Gold advantage with an RBI single in the same inning.
* Shelby Turnier and the UCF defense held the Blue Raiders to just five hits in the game. Turnier struck out six batters and earned the 19th shutout of her career.
Nine In The Nightcap
* The UCF offense went to work in a 9-0 win over La Salle in Friday's nightcap.
* After scoring a run in the first inning, the Knights tacked on three in the second.
* UCF busted the game open with a five-run fourth inning, including Jessica Ujvari's fourth home run of the season, a three-run blast over the right center wall.
* The Knights posted back-to-back shutouts for the first time this season, and run-ruled their first opponent in 2016. UCF scored a season-high nine runs in the win.
Getting the Hits
* UCF posted its fifth game with 10 or more hits, knocking 11 against Middle Tennessee. Three Knights - Ujvari, Goodman and junior Willow Kalinen - finished with multiple hits.
* The Black and Gold recorded at least one hit in all six innings against Middle Tennessee, and had three multi-hit innings.
* UCF knocked nine hits in the five-inning win over La Salle. Three Knights finished with multiple hits, including Ujvari and redshirt junior Jasmine Acevedo who each went 2-for-2.
Next Up
The Knights are back in action at the UCF Tournament, facing South Dakota and LIU in a doubleheader beginning at 6 p.m.
Story by Megan Herboth; Video by Troy Kless