ORLANDO – The Black and Gold split two games Sunday to move to 5-1 on the season, wrapping up a monumental opening weekend in The Black and Gold Tournament. The Knights dropped a close one to Duke in the first game of the day, falling 3-2 before bouncing back and taking game two against St. John's, 6-2.
"We got to see a lot of production from different people and our bats were on fire." said UCF Softball Head Coach Cindy-Ball Malone on the team's performance during Opening Weekend. "It is fun to see them play loose like that and offensively, just they know they can do it."
The Knights will be back at The Plex on Wednesday, February 12 for a showdown with the number one overall nationally ranked Washington Huskies. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 pm ET. Fans can purchase tickets for the Washington contest online here.
UCF 2 // Duke 3
After defeating Duke, 5-2, last night, the Blue Devils handed UCF its first loss of the season on Sunday behind stellar pitching performances from the duo of Brianna Butler and Shelby Walters, who did not allow the scorching hot UCF offense to score a run until the 7th inning.
The Blue Devils jumped out to an early lead in the top of the second as Caroline Jacobsen homered to bring in a pair. They tacked on another with a solo shot in the fifth to jump out, 3-0.
The Knights turned it on in the final inning as they scored two before Takiya London was thrown out advancing to third on a close play, ending the game with a final score of 3-2, Duke.
Gianna Mancha was credited with the loss in the contest after tossing five innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits and a walk. She is now 1-1 to begin the year.
KEY MOMENTS
- Duke struck first in the contest in the top of the second as Caroline Jacobsen homered to bring in a pair of runs for the Blue Devils.
- Duke extended their lead courtesy of a solo shot from Kristina Foreman.
- Jada Cody got the Knights on the board in the bottom of the 7th, hitting a line drive to the right side to send Kyra Klarkowski across the plate.
- Later in the inning, down to their last out, Shannon Doherty singled to left to drive in Jada Cody, but Takiya London was thrown out advancing to third on a close play, ending the game with a final score of 3-2, Duke.
UCF 6 // St. John's 2
The Knights bounced back in a big way for game two as their offensive production returned to lead them to a 6-2 victory.
Justene Molina was a Knightmare for opposing pitchers at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a solo homerun, her first in a UCF uniform.
Jada Cody also got in on the action, hitting her first career home run in the form of a solo shot in the sixth to put UCF up, 6-2.
Alea White was lights out on the mound, earning her third win of the season already after tossing five innings, allowing two runs and striking out seven.
With the win, UCF moved to 5-1 on the season. They will look to keep the good times rolling Wednesday, February 12 as they take on the number one overall nationally ranked Washington Huskies at 6:00 pm ET.
KEY MOMENTS
- Kyra Klarkowski scored on a passed ball to get the scoring started for the Knights in the top of the first.
- With two on in the second, Georgia Blair singled to left to drive in Justene Molina, extending the UCF lead to 2-0.
- A fielder's choice allowed the first St. John's run to cross the plate in the third, cutting the UCF lead to 2-1.
- Karissa Ornelas hit a sacrifice-fly to left to drive in Madelyn Bejarano in the fourth, putting the Knights up 3-1.
- Klarkowski came around to score on a wild pitch in the same inning, making it a 4-1 UCF lead.
- A fielder's choice allowed St. John's to score their second run, bringing the score to 4-2.
- Molina homered over the left field wall in the bottom of the fifth, a solo shot, to extend score the fifth run of the game for the Knights.
- Jada Cody smacked a home run down the left field line in the next inning to put UCF up 6-2.
NOTABLES
- The 40 combined runs UCF scored through its first six games mark the most runs scored through any first six games in program history.
- The Jada Cody home run in the sixth inning of the second game marked the first in Cody's career.
- Shannon Doherty tied the school record with four walks in the game against St. John's (Last was Stephanie Best on 04/18/04).
- With 13 combined walks against St. John's, UCF broke the school record for most walks in a game, beating the previous record of 12 recorded on 5/5/18 vs. ECU.
- The loss to Duke marked the first of the season for UCF.
- The 5-1 opening weekend record ties for the 3rd best start in program history.
UP NEXT
The Knights will be back at The Plex Wednesday, February 12 for a showdown with the number one overall nationally ranked Washington Huskies. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 pm ET. Fans can purchase tickets for the Washington contest online here.
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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Stay tuned to UCF Softball on Facebook (/UCFSoftball), Twitter (@UCF_Softball) and Instagram (@UCF.Softball) for the latest on the UCF softball team.
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