ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – Gold used a five-run sixth inning to break a 7-7 tie and go on to post a 12-10 victory on Thursday evening at Soldier's Creek Park. Gold won all three contests of the Black and Gold Games.
Gold was paced by three-hit performances from sophomore Tamesha Glover and junior Erin Emanuel, while three runs were driven in by sophomore Jazmine Esparza and Glover. Two hits each were registered by sophomore Damara Begin and freshman Denali Schappacher.
Junior Cassady Brewer paced Black with a 4-for-4 performance, while senior Courtney Rotton drove in a trio on two base knocks. Two hits were also notched by senior Megan Greenwell.
The victory was notched by Begin, who struck out one in a complete-game effort that yielded four earned runs.
Black opened the game by tallying two runs in the first frame. Greenwell and Brewer began with consecutive singles to left center, then Rotton drove in a run on a sac fly. Black tacked on another run via a fielding mistake.
In the bottom of the second, Gold responded following leadoff base hits by sophomore Kyra Klarkowski and junior Erin Emanuel. A ball off the bat of Esparza spun away from two infielders, allowing a pair of runs to score to knot the contest, 2-2.
Both teams exchanged runs in the third inning. Freshman Kendyl Lange registered an RBI double for Black and a two-out triple by Emanuel evened the score for Gold, 3-3, in the bottom-half.
The back-and-forth play continued with Black taking advantage of a mistake to take a 4-3 advantage in the fourth frame.
After Glover led off the bottom of the fourth frame with a solo shot to tie the game, a three-run blast over the fence in left center by Begin put Gold on top, 7-4. Gold pushed across four runs on three hits during the frame.
Black responded once again and used a two-run triple by Rotton to push across three runs and tie the score, 7-7, to start the sixth inning.
The Knights conclude their fall slate with a pair of contests on Friday. UCF hosts Broward at 11 a.m., then travels to Rollins for a 4 p.m. contest in Winter Park, Fla.
