UCF vs Kennesaw St. | UCF vs Kennesaw St. | UCF vs Kennesaw St. | UCF vs No. 2 Arizona |
ORLANDO – The Knights are set for four games in three days as UCF will welcome Kennesaw State to the UCF Softball Complex for a three-game series taking place Saturday and Sunday. UCF will then take on No. 2 Arizona at home Monday afternoon.
The Knights will play Kennesaw State Saturday at 3:00 p.m. and then again in a doubleheader Sunday at 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. UCF will then turn right around and play a Monday matinee against No. 2 Arizona at 3:00 p.m.
Sunday's doubleheader against Kennesaw State and Monday afternoon's game against the Wildcats will be streamed live on ESPN+.
THE OWLS
Kennesaw State is off to a 5-7 start to the season, but after opening the season 0-4, the Owls are 5-3 since, with their most prominent win coming in a 4-1 victory over Georgia Tech on Feb. 27.
Before the conclusion of the 2020 season, the Owls were a solid 21-4, helping them to a predicted second overall finish in the ASUN Conference preseason coaches' poll entering this year. The Owls returned 17 players to this year's squad, including preseason ASUN All-Conference Team honorees Cheyanne Sales, Taylor Cates and Brea Dickey.
The Knights lost 3-1 in their only previous game against The Owls in 2009.
THE WILDCATS
Arizona moved to No. 2 in this week's NFCA Top 25. The Wildcats are 10-0 for the 14th time in school history and for the first since 2017, with eight of those wins coming via the run-rule.
To this point in the season, Arizona has outscored its opponents 89-12 and is hitting .382 as a team with 20 homers. Dating back to last season, the Wildcats have won 21 straight games, the longest active winning streak in the country. Much of that success can be attributed to the Wildcats pitching staff, which currently boasts a 0.95 team ERA, sixth best in the country.
The Knights are 0-1 in their sole previous matchup against Arizona in 2016, having lost 19-4 on neutral ground.
KNIGHT BITES
OFFENSE ON FIRE
Coming into the week, the Knights' offense ranked in the top 15 in batting average (.389), on base percentage (.456%), slugging percentage (.598%) and total scoring (8.27 runs per game). To this point in the season, UCF has outscored opponents, 91-23. Knights' slugger Jada Cody is currently on a 15-game hitting streak.
STAYING PUT
The USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll was released on Tuesday and the Knights checked in at No. 22 for the second straight week. The Knights, who were predicted to finish first in the American Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll in early January, are the sole AAC team to make an appearance in the top 25. UCF was also ranked No. 17 in the JWOS Top 25 Poll, No. 19 in the D1 Softball poll and were tied for No. 23 in the USA Softball/ESPN rankings with Auburn.
TWO SWEEPS!
The Knights are hot to start the season, having already swept two series. UCF posted its highest margin of victory ever in the opening game against New Mexico State on Feb. 19, winning 18-1. The Knights posted 37 combined runs over three games to sweep the Aggies and move to 6-1 on the year. Two pitching gems and another offensive explosion guided the Knights to another sweep over McNeese State this past weekend. Following the sweep over the Cowgirls and the recent win over UNF on Wednesday night, UCF is 10-2 to begin the year.
THUNDER FROM DOWN UNDER
Australia native and UCF senior Georgia Blair has been on an absolute tear to begin the season. Heading into this week, Blair was slashing .484/.556/1.097 with six home runs, 15 RBI and 34 total bases. She has accounted for 23 percent of the UCF offense to begin the season. In 2020, Blair became the fastest Knight to ever get to six home runs, needing just 15 games to do so. This year, she did it in eight games.
A NEW ALL-TIME WINS LEADER
UCF Softball has a new all-time wins leader in Alea White. White secured career win No. 81 in the series finale over New Mexico State, passing Shelby Turnier as the winningest pitcher in program history. On the mound, White was lights out in her record-setting performance. She was perfect through four and threw a complete game, allowing no earned runs on just four hits while striking out eight.
TICKETING/COVID-19 PROTOCOLS
Capacity for The UCF Softball Complex this season is roughly twenty-five percent of full capacity.
A very limited number of single-game tickets will be made available 24-48 hours prior to each home game. Single game ticket inventory will come from unclaimed visiting team and player guest ticket allotments and will vary by game.
Fans interested in purchasing tickets are encouraged to check their UCF Account Manager page HERE leading up to each home game for ticket availability.
All tickets will be $10 general admission seats. There will be NO walk-up tickets available day of game as it is online purchase only.
Fans will be required to wear face coverings at all times, except while actively eating or drinking. Other safety measures in place for the 2021 season include:
- Hand sanitizer stations will be located throughout the concourse
- Bathrooms and other common touch points will be cleaned and sanitized regularly
- COVID-19 signage encouraging best practices will be located throughout the facility
- Certain seating will be blocked off to encourage physical distancing
For the latest information on ticketing for 2021 UCF Softball home events, contact the ticket office at (407) 823-1000, or follow us on social at UCF Softball on Facebook (/UCFSoftball), Twitter (@UCF_Softball) and Instagram (@UCF.Softball).
FOLLOW THE KNIGHTS
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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