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UCF Offense on Full Display in 11-2 Win

Box Score (PDF) Watch: Coach Bear

ORLANDO – The Knights secured their second straight victory to start the 2020 season after a powerful offensive display led them to a win over Indiana, 11-2, Friday night at the UCF Softball Complex in Orlando, Fla.

"Indiana is a great team and for us, we thought they were going to bring a different ballgame to us, and they did." said UCF Softball Head Coach Cindy-Ball Malone. "I think our girls adjusted to their pitchers and put the ball in play a little bit better today and ended the game well with some better hits than we had even in the first inning."

Gianna Mancha started in the circle for UCF. It was Mancha's first career appearance with the Knights, and she did not disappoint as she dazzled in five innings. She struck out six and allowed just three hits and two earned runs to earn the victory.
 
Offensively, The Black and Gold received contributions from up and down the lineup as seven of the nine UCF starters got a hit to combine for 10 hits total. Justene Molina went 2-for-3 with three RBI in the contest while Georgia Blair came up clutch with a three run walk-off home run to secure the victory for UCF.

The Knights will continue their opening weekend Saturday night at 3:30 pm and 6:00 pm as they take on Clemson and Duke, respectively. They play two games on Sunday to wrap up.


KEY MOMENTS

  • Indiana threatened with a runner in scoring position in the first but a clutch strikeout from Gianna Mancha stranded the runner and ended the inning.
  • The first three batters of the game loaded the bases for the Knights to start the bottom of the first and a Shannon Doherty RBI single drove in Kyra Klarkowski for the Knights' first run of the ballgame.
  • The next batter, Denali Schappacher, walked with the bases load to bring in another run, making it 2-0.
  • Karissa Ornelas, Justene Molina and Madelyn Bejarano each contributed with RBI of their own to put UCF out to a 5-0 lead, all in the first inning.
  • Indiana scored their first run of the game courtesy of an RBI ground out by Tatum Hayes in the second.
  • Indiana went on to cut the deficit to 5-2 in the same inning courtesy of an RBI triple off the bat of Tete Hart.
  • With the bases loaded, Justene Molina knocked a single back up the middle to drive in a pair and put UCF up 7-2.
  • Kyra Klarkoski followed with a single up the middle of her own to extend the Knights' lead to 8-2
  • With two runners on in the fifth, Georgia Blair hit an opposite field home run to walk it off and give the Knights the 11-2 victory.

NOTABLES

  • The game marked Gianna Mancha's first appearance for the Knights as she transferred to UCF after playing her first two year with Boise State. She struck out six and allowed just three hits.
  • The victory marked the first time in program history that UCF began their season with back-to-back run rule victories.
  • The walk-off home run marked Georgia Blair's first as a member of UCF.
  • The win moved UCF to 5-0 all-time against Indiana.

UP NEXT:
The Knights will continue their opening weekend Saturday night at 3:30 pm and 6:00 pm as they take on Clemson and Duke, respectively. They play two games on Sunday to wrap up.

TICKETS FOR 2020
Fans can purchase tickets for the 2020 UCF softball season by calling (407) 823-1000 or online here.

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