ORLANDO – The Knights' 11-game winning streak came to an end Wednesday night as No. 21 UCF fell to No. 7 FSU, 8-3, at the UCF Softball Complex.
"The more we are in these positions and opportunities, the more we are going to start to feel comfortable and play our game," said UCF Softball head coach Cindy Ball-Malone. "We swung out of the zone and took pitches we don't normally take. You can't do that against any good team."
Walks were a key factor in the contest as UCF pitchers doled out seven of them to go along with two hit batters and eight hits allowed. The FSU power was also in full display as three separate Seminoles chimed in with home runs, including back-to-back solo shots in the fifth. UCF starting pitcher Alea White was credited with her second loss of the season after allowing three runs on four hits and four walks in 4.1 innings pitched.
The UCF bats were absent for much of the night as the Knights were only able to muster two hits prior to the final inning. Despite facing an 8-0 deficit in the seventh, UCF would not go out quietly.
The Knights rallied for a three-run inning to cut the deficit to 8-3, but that's all the Knights would get as they would go on to lose by that score.
The loss against FSU marked the first for the Knights since falling, 12-3, to No. 1 Washington on February 12.
KEY MOMENTS
- FSU struck first in the contest with an RBI single in the top of the third, putting the Seminoles up 1-0 early.
- Back-to-back Home Runs from the Seminoles in the top of the fifth extended their lead to 3-0.
- FSU scratched across two more in the sixth to go up 5-0.
- FSU padded its lead with a three-run home run in the seventh.
- The Knights got on the board in the bottom of the seventh as Karissa Ornelas smacked a double to right-center field to score Denali Schappacher and make it an 8-1 game.
- Juliana Wilson followed with a bloop single to right to score the Knights' second run of the night
- The next batter, Georgia Blair singled to right to score Jazmine Esparza, cutting the FSU lead to 8-3.
NOTABLES
- The game marked just the fourth Top 25 matchup that UCF has ever played in at the UCF Softball Complex.
- Earning the start in the contest, Alea White became just the second UCF pitcher to ever pitch in a Top 25 matchup at the UCF Softball Complex, with Shelby Turnier (2013-2016) being the other.
- With the start, White moves to third all-time in games started at pitcher at UCF, tying Allison Kime (2006-2008) with 107.
- Shannon Doherty's 13-game hitting streak came to a close as the freshman went 0-for-2 at the plate.
ON DECK
UCF will fly to Los Angeles California on Thursday to begin an 11-day road trip. The Knights will play eight games in California beginning on Friday, including against No. 1 UCLA, No. 16 Michigan and No. 18 Minnesota, before heading to Mississippi for a three-game series against Ole Miss from March 13-15.
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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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