ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – In its first home contest against a top-ranked team in the nation, UCF set the third-highest attendance in school history with 947 fans at the UCF Softball Complex. The Knights were unable to use the encouragement of the Black and Gold faithful to upset No. 1 Florida State on Wednesday in a 4-0 loss.
"There was a lot of excitement on campus today with the NIT game going on after us," head coach Renee Luers-Gillispie said. "Our fans were all excited to be cheering us on. Our players definitely play better every time that we have a sell-out crowd, because they are encouraged by the excitement and enthusiasm from the fans."
The only two matchups with higher attendance in program history came against Florida during the 2010 (1091) and 2016 (1064) seasons.
Freshman Alea White notched three strikeouts and tossed an impressive game working alongside the classmate Autumn Gillespie behind the plate.
"Alea [White] and Autumn [Gillespie] are a great battery," Gillispie said. "They did a wonderful job of knowing what they want to do and executing that plan against each batter. One pitch, here or there, is the difference in the game. Florida State is a solid offensive team and takes advantage of runners in scoring position."
The Seminoles used a two-out rally in the second inning to score a pair of runs on three hits. FSU took control of the game in the seventh frame when Zoe Casas hit a two-run homer to extend its lead to 4-0.
Two of the Knights' three hits were tallied by sophomore first baseman Cassady Brewer. The Apopka, Fla., native tallied a one-out single in the second frame, which was followed by a base hit from senior right fielder Willow Kalinen. The Knights were unable to take advantage of the opportunity.
With FSU threatening with two on and two outs in the fourth frame, junior centerfielder Megan Greenwell fired a dart to the plate that prevented a run. Gillespie threw the ball to senior shortstop Brittany Solis, who made a return throw back to the plate when the runner broke for home. A quick tag was applied by Gillespie to end the inning.
Next Up
The Knights begin play in the American Athletic Conference on Friday at 5:30 p.m. against Houston. The three-game set against the Cougars continues at 2 p.m. Saturday and concludes on Sunday at noon.
Season tickets for the 2017 campaign start at $50 for adults and $25 for youth (ages 2-17). For more information about season and individual game tickets, click here.
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