ORLANDO – Led by a gem on the mound from starting pitcher Alea White, the No. 24 Knights took down ECU 4-0 on Saturday at Max R. Joyner Family Stadium in Greenville, North Carolina to move to 28-9, 8-3 on the year.
White was a true workhouse ace for the Knights in the contest, defending just a one-run lead until the seventh inning when the Knights tacked on three more insurance runs. White posted three 1-2-3 innings and allowed an ECU runner to reach scoring position just twice all game. She finished the game with a seven inning, complete game shutout, allowing just five hits while striking out three to move to 14-3 on the season.
"Alea is a Rockstar," said head coach Cindy Ball-Malone. "I love her competitiveness and how she made adjustments. The fact that she has already faced ECU in two other games this series and then shut them out today just speaks to her ability to mix speeds, mix pitches, and compete."
The Knights' offense was slow to start, manufacturing just one run through the first six innings, but the insurance runs came in the seventh as UCF posted three runs, including two off a home run from Kaitlyn Jensen, to take the 4-0 lead.
"Of course, we'd love to have multiple runs in an inning or not play with just a one run lead for so long, but at the same time, I think our team needed games like this to continue to keep learning how to stay composed under those situations," said Ball-Malone. "These types of games put us in a really good position to help us be at our best at the end of the year."
Key Moments
- The Knights manufactured a run in the second as Ball-Malone signaled for the double steal with runners on the corners and everyone was safe to put UCF up 1-0.
- With a runner on third and two away in the seventh, Katie Burge hit a single back to the pitcher to drive in Justene Molina, who led off the inning with a walk, putting UCF's lead at 2-0.
- The next batter, Kaitlyn Jensen, hit a two-run home run to extend the Knights' lead to 4-0.
NOTABLES
- The win moves UCF to 28-9 overall and 8-3 in conference play.
- The win moves White to 14-3 on the season. Her 14 wins lead the conference and are tied for eighth in the nation.
- Jazmine Esparza hit a double in the contest. Her 13 doubles on the season lead the conference and are tied for fifth in the nation. As a team, UCF has a league leading 51 doubles.
UP NEXT
The Knights will wrap up their series with the Pirates on Sunday. First pitch is set for noon.
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