MEMPHIS, Tenn. – History was made Friday night at Tigers Softball Complex in Memphis, Tennessee as UCF senior Gianna Mancha tossed a no-hitter, striking out 13 to lead the Knights to their second victory of the day over the Tigers.
Riding Mancha's historic performance, the Knights took down Memphis, 8-0, in game two of a doubleheader with the Tigers. In game one, the Knights came away with the 10-2 win.
With the wins, UCF moves to 32-12-1, 11-6-1 on the season.
"[Gianna] came out just jumping ahead of hitters all night," said head coach Cindy Ball-Malone. "Her ball was moving really well and her timing was on today. The matchup against Memphis was a really good one for her, and the way her ball was biting made it hard to hit. It's not like one pitch was dominating either because she had strikeouts on every one of her pitches. It was awesome to watch."
The Knights scored a combined 18 runs in the two wins, winning by virtue of the run rule in both games.
"We practiced being aggressive and hitting for the runner," said Ball-Malone. "I feel like we swung the bat way more than we took pitches tonight. We also ran the bases really well, took extras bases when we could, took advantage of some sac-fly situations and read the ball in the dirt. All of that combined really moved the momentum of our offense.
"It was good for our lineup to get going again. We were getting a lot of runs across which means we were putting pressure on them."
The Knights will face the Tigers again Saturday at 3:00 p.m. ET before wrapping up the series with a 12:00 p.m. ET game on Sunday.
GAME ONE – UCF 10 // Memphis 2
The bats were alive in game one Friday night as UCF hitters combined for 10 runs on 12 hits to take down the Tigers, 10-2.
There were four UCF home runs in the win, including two off the bat of Jada Cody, who finished the game 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored. Shannon Doherty and Juliana Wilson also knocked balls out of the park.
In the circle for the Knights, Alea White needed to throw just five innings to earn the complete game victory as UCF led by eight runs after five innings. White was dominant to begin the game, allowing just two baserunners through the first four innings before giving up a two-run home run to Memphis in the fifth.
White allowed just the two earned runs in five innings, striking out five to move to 16-4 on the year.
Key Moments
- The Knights got on the board early as Denali Schappacher led off the game with a walk and came around to score on a Georgia Blair RBI single, putting UCF up 1-0.
- Later in the first, Juliana Wilson hit a sacrifice-fly to drive in another run and extend the Knights' lead to 2-0.
- Shannon Doherty hit a two-run home run in the third to put UCF up 4-0.
- Jada Cody led off the top of the fourth with a solo home run to extend the Knights' lead to 5-0.
- Two batters later, Juliana Wilson hit a solo shot of her own to make it a 6-0 UCF lead.
- Later in the fourth inning, Justene Molina doubled to drive in a pair, moving the Black and Gold's lead to 8-0.
- Two batters later, Jazmine Esparza singled in Molina, putting UCF up 9-0.
- Jada Cody led off the fifth inning with a solo home run, her second of the game, to make it a 10-0 UCF lead.
- The Tigers struck back with a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth, cutting their deficit to 10-2.
GAME TWO – UCF 8 // Memphis 0
The UCF offense kept their momentum from game one rolling into the second game of the doubleheader on Friday as the Knights scored eight, but one run would have been more than enough for starting pitcher Gianna Mancha, who was quite literally un-hittable.
Despite a roughly 30-minute rain delay in the middle of the game, Mancha did not lose her poise as she tossed six hitless and scoreless innings while striking out a career-high 13 batters to secure her first career no-hitter (UCF's first since 2019) and lead her team to the 8-0 win. With the win, Mancha moved to 11-4 on the season.
The Knights wasted no time getting on the board in game two, posting three runs in the first inning to take the early lead over Memphis. At the top of the lineup, Denali Schappacher was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and two runs scored.
Two home runs in the third inning off the bats of Jazmine Esparza and Shannon Doherty (her second of the day) would pad the Knights' lead, putting them up 7-0 before Schappacher would come around to score on a wild pitch to give UCF the 8-0 lead.
With the win, UCF moved to 32-12-1 on the season.
Key Moments
- Georgia Blair and Juliana Wilson each drove in a run with RBI doubles in the top of the first, putting UCF up 2-0 early.
- An RBI single from Karissa Ornelas later in the inning would extend the Knights' lead to 3-0.
- Denali Schappacher scored on a passed ball in the second to make it a 4-0 UCF lead.
- A solo home run from Shannon Doherty in the third would extend the Knights' lead to 5-0.
- Later in the inning, Jazmine Esparza hit a two-run shot to put UCF up 7-0.
- Schappacher came around to score on a wild pitch in the sixth inning, giving the Knights the 6-0 lead.
NOTABLES
- Mancha's no-hitter marked the 18th in program history.
- The last UCF no-hitter was thrown by Alea White against Coastal Carolina on Feb. 22, 2019.
- The no-hitter was the fifth in UCF history against an AAC opponent.
- The last UCF no-hitter thrown against an AAC opponent was by Mackenzie Audas on April 11, 2015.
- Mancha's 13 strikeouts are a career-high (previous; 11 vs FIU – 02/22/2020)
- With the two home runs, Shannon Doherty has 11 home runs this season, tied with Georgia Blair for the team lead
- The Knights have only ever had four seasons with two players hitting 10 or more home runs (2002, 2004, 2005 and now 2021).
- With the win, UCF has now won five straight over the Tigers dating back to 2019.
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