#25 UCF at RV Ole Miss | #25 UCF at RV Ole Miss | #25 UCF at RV Ole Miss |
ORLANDO – Coming off a weekend sweep against Memphis, the No. 25 UCF softball team (34-12-1, 13-6-1, AAC) will stay on the road, this time headed to Oxford, Mississippi, as the Knights will play a three-game series with RV Ole Miss (31-16, 12-9 SEC) from April 30 – May 2.
The Knights will do battle with the Rebels are 7:00 p.m. ET on Friday, 5:00 p.m. ET on Saturday and wrap things up with a 12:30 p.m. ET game on Sunday.
All three games will be broadcasted live on SEC Network +.
THE REBELS
Ole Miss is receiving votes in the latest NFCA/USA Today Coaches Top 25 Poll and No. 23 in the D1 Softball poll as the Rebels are 31-16 on the season and 12-9 against SEC opponents. The Rebels are coming off a weekend that saw them go 2-1 against Auburn.
To this point in the season, Ole Miss has done battle with 10 ranked opponents, posting a 4-6 record in those games.
The Rebels are a tough foe to beat on their home turf as they have are 21-3 when playing at the Ole Miss Softball Complex. Conversely, the Knights are 18-7 when playing away from their home stadium.
The Knights are 3-2 all-time against Ole Miss, having lost their most recent matchup 3-0 on Feb. 7, 2019.
KNIGHT BITES
My, My Mancha!
UCF senior pitcher Gianna Mancha has posted quite the 2020-21 campaign to this point in the season. After already earning two AAC Pitcher of the Week awards (March 8 and March 15), she tossed a no-hitter on April 23 on the road against Memphis, striking out 13 batters in six scoreless innings of work. Mancha also tossed a three-hit shutout with two walks and nine strikeouts in a 2-0 win against No. 2/3 Arizona on March 8 to earn NFCA national pitcher of the week honors.
DROPPING BOMBS
With 52 home runs as a team, Team XX has passed the 2005 team for most home combined home runs in a season. Jada Cody hit three of them in the weekend sweep for the Knights, batting .417 along the way to earn her second career AAC Conference Player of the Week nod.
HOLDING STEADY
UCF is still holding relatively steady in several national polls. The USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll was released on Tuesday and the Knights were tied at No. 25. The were the sole AAC team to make an appearance in the top 25 as Wichita State dropped out. The Knights were also No. 24 in the D1 Softball poll and are No. 24 in the USA Softball/ESPN rankings.
TOP FIVE TAKEDOWNS
The Knights' have three wins over top-five ranked teams in the country to this point in the season with wins over No. 5 Florida (twice - March 24, 8-6 and April 14, 7-0) and No. 2 Arizona (March 8, 2-0). UCF has played seven games against a top-25 opponent in 2021 as the Knights have already done battle with then No. 20 Mizzou (L, 6-5), No. 2 Arizona, No. 5 Florida and No. 24 South Carolina (L, 9-1, L, 4-2, W, 10-4). UCF's matchup with the Gators on Wednesday marked just the third time in program history that the two sides have squared off while ranked in the top 25. The first time was on Feb. 25, 2015 when then No. 15 UCF lost to then No.1 Florida, 2-1, in Gainesville.
WHITE KNIGHT
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 on Feb. 21, 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.
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