ORLANDO, Fla. – The first pitch of the 2022 UCF softball season is one week away and the Knights have a talented group of pitchers and catchers who will be involved in that first pitch and the many following this spring. The Black and Gold have five pitchers and three catchers on this year's squad.
The pitching staff is headlined by senior Gianna Mancha who looks to be the ace of the staff after a phenomenal 2021 season. She posted a 14-6 record with a 2.42 ERA over 147.2 innings pitched, punching out 139 batters and holding opponents to a .197 batting average. Mancha earned NFCA Mideast Third Team All-Region and American Athletic Conference Second Team All-Conference honors at the end of the 2021 campaign. The Fresno, Calif. native pitched a gem against No. 2 Arizona on Mar. 8, tossing a complete game, three-hit shutout and punched out nine Wildcats as the Knights secured the upset by a final of 2-0. Mancha was named NFCA Pitcher of the Week for her performance and followed that up with a pair of back-to-back American Pitcher of the Week honors along the way as well. Her performance against Arizona was outdone by her own doing on Apr. 23 as she threw a no-hitter on the road against Memphis, the 17th in program history. Mancha's no-no was the first since 2015, a season in which the Knights threw a total of four no-hitters.
Mancha is joined by returners Grace Jewell and Angelina DeVoe, both who will be entering their sophomore seasons.
Jewell's top outing of the 2021 season came against Wichita State on Apr. 17 in which she tossed 5.2 innings, allowing just one run and striking out four. In total, Jewell worked 13.1 innings during her rookie campaign, appearing in seven games and starting in two.
Devoe also appeared in seven games for the Knights in 2021, starting in one. She made her collegiate debut on Feb. 19, pitching a perfect inning against New Mexico State. Devoe is the only left-handed pitcher on the roster.
UCF welcomes two new arms to the team this season, landing transfer Kama Woodall and freshman Kaitlyn Felton.
Woodall joins the Knights after four seasons of collegiate softball, playing at NC State in her freshman and sophomore seasons followed by two seasons at ECU. The Spring Hill, Fla. native has appeared in 99 games over her four seasons, working 390 innings and earning a 3.36 ERA. She has struck out 226 batters and has held opponents to a .277 batting average. Woodall faced the Knights four times in 2021 as a member of the ECU squad, working 28.2 innings in those games, including an 11-inning outing that saw UCF earn a 4-3 win in extras.
Felton is the lone freshman on this year's pitching staff as she joins the Knights from Newsome High in Valrico, Fla. She led her high school team to a state runner-up finish in her sophomore season and earned second team all-conference in her freshman campaign. She played club softball with the Tampa Mustangs and NJ Intensity KOD Premier.
A trio of catchers will suit up for the Black and Gold in 2022. Juliana Wilson serves as the roster's only returner behind the dish after playing in 11 games at the catcher position. Wilson is joined by newcomers Ashleigh Griffin and Carson Frier who both are listed as catcher/infield.
Despite catching just 11 games in 2021, Wilson started in 42 games and playing in 55. Of her 42 starts, 22 came in right field. Wilson was named to the AAC All-Rookie Team after hitting eight homers and driving in 31 RBI during her first full season of collegiate softball. Her eight homers were the fourth highest total on the team in 2021 and ranked third on the team in doubles with nine.
Griffin joins UCF from Newnan, Ga. and brings plenty of power with her to Orlando. She slugged eight homers and hit .547 with 54 RBI in her junior year and was named to the senior all-star team in her final year at East Coweta High. Griffin played football before ever picking up a softball.
Frier joins the Knights after dominating five different varsity sports in high school. On the diamond, she played club ball for the Gold Coast Hurricanes, the USSSA elite select world fast pitch champions and 16U Junior Olympic Cup runner-ups in 2020. She scored 23 goals as a member of the school's soccer team and was named offensive and overall MVP and earned a first-team all-state nod. She broke the school record in weightlifting for clean and jerk and total in the 154-weight class. The victories didn't stop there as she won three matches as part of the golf team. An offensive MVP award on the volleyball team completes Frier's five-sport gauntlet.
OPENING WEEKEND
The Black and Gold open the 2022 campaign at home as they host No. 12 Georgia on Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. The contest is one of four games on opening weekend, followed by a matchup with Minnesota on Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m. and a double header against Fresno State and Longwood on Feb. 12.
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