Knights Set To Begin 2022 Season

ORLANDO, Fla. – The UCF softball team is set to begin its 2022 season against a competitive field in The CFX Classic. The Knights will start the campaign by hosting No. 12 Georgia on Thursday at 6 p.m., followed by meetings with Minnesota, Fresno State and Longwood throughout the weekend.

The Black and Gold are looking to improve on what was a great 2021 season. The Knights finished the year with a 41-19-1 record, reaching the final of the American Athletic Conference Championship as well as the NCAA Tallahassee Regional. It was the first time since 2015 that a Knight team has eclipsed the 40-win mark. UCF earned three wins over top five teams, beating No. 2 Arizona 2-0 and sweeping No. 5 Florida in an in-season home-and-home, earning 8-6 and 7-0 victories. The Black and Gold finished the year just outside of the NFCA Top 25, receiving votes in the final poll of 2021.

UCF begins the season in the same spot they finished 2021, receiving votes in the NFCA Top 25. They are the first team on the outside looking in at the top 25 and have a chance to boost themselves up in the rankings against this weekend's field. Georgia enters the season at No. 12 while both Minnesota and Fresno State begin 2022 receiving votes.

Georgia had a 2021 to remember, reaching the Women's College World Series despite getting bounced from the SEC Tournament in their first game. The Bulldogs got through the NCAA Athens Regional in the minimum three games but had to do it with a pair of one run victories over No. 13 Duke. The Super Regionals saw Georgia beat shutout No. 4 Florida in Gainesville, beating them 4-0 and 6-0 in back-to-back days. The Bulldogs season came to an end with a pair of losses at the World Series, falling to No. 5 Oklahoma State 3-2 and the eventual national champs in No. 1 Oklahoma by a score of 8-0.

Georgia returns all nine members of last season's starting lineup, a group that went 34-23 overall last year. The Bulldogs return 80 of 83 home runs hit in 2021 and bring back 95 percent of the run production and a total of 149 extra base hits.

While the lineup may look the same, Georgia has an almost entirely new coaching staff to start 2022. Tony Baldwin will embark on his first season as head coach after spending nine years on staff under Lu Harris-Champer. During Baldwin's tenure, Georgia has appeared in eight NCAA Tournaments. J.T. D'Amico and Chelsea Wilkinson join Baldwin as assistant coaches while Alyssa DiCarlo will be the volunteer assistant coach. All three are set to embark on their first season at Georgia.
UCF has only met Georgia twice, with the Bulldogs earning victories on both accounts. The Black and Gold were narrowly edged by Georgia in their previous meeting, a 6-5 decision on Mar. 11, 2017.

The Knights will match up with Minnesota on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. The Golden Gophers finished 2021 with a record of 31-13 in head coach Piper Ritter's first season at the helm. The team reached the NCAA Los Angeles Regional, opening the weekend with a 3-0 loss to Fresno State. The Golden Gophers rallied to beat Long Beach State and Fresno State the following day, punching their ticket to the regional final. Minnesota gave No. 2 UCLA a run for its money, but ultimately fell to the Bruins by a score of 2-1. UCF has faced the Golden Gophers just three times in their history, with the series tied at 1-1-1. The last meeting ended in a 5-5 tie two seasons ago on Mar. 8, 2020.

The Black and Gold will play in a double header on Saturday, facing Fresno State at 2 p.m. before squaring off with Longwood at 7 p.m.

Fresno State finished their 2021 campaign with an NCAA Regional berth as well as they were eliminated at the hands of Minnesota in Los Angeles. The Bulldogs finished the season with a 37-12 record and will be under the direction of a new head coach this season in Stacy May-Johnson. The Knights will face Fresno State for the first time since 2003, where they beat the Bulldogs on Valentine's Day by a score of 3-2 in the two team's only meeting in program history.

UCF will wrap up the weekend against Longwood, one of just nine teams on the Black and Gold's schedule to finish 2021 with a losing record. The Lancers went 26-28 in head coach Dr. Megan Brown's first year as head coach but picked up some big wins along the way, including a 3-2 upset of No. 16 Georgia in Athens. The Knights are 4-0 all-time against Longwood, beating the Lancers 2-0 in their previous meeting back on Mar. 1, 2020.

The CFX Classic
Along with battling four teams head-to-head this weekend, the Knights will host multiple neutral site games involving their four opponents over Opening Weekend. The full schedule for The CFX Classic is below.

February 10
6:00 p.m. – Georgia vs. UCF | Stats
 
February 11
11:00 am – Longwood vs. Fresno State | Stats
1:30 pm – Longwood vs. Georgia | Stats
4:00 pm – Minnesota vs. Georgia | Stats
6:30 pm – Minnesota vs. UCF | Stats
 
February 12
9:00 am – Georgia vs. Fresno State | Stats
11:30 am – Georgia vs. Minnesota | Stats
2:00 pm – Fresno State vs. UCF | Stats
4:30 pm – Longwood vs. Minnesota | Stats
7:00 pm – Longwood vs. UCF | Stats
 
February 13
9:30 am – Fresno State vs. Minnesota | Stats
12:00 pm – Georgia vs. Longwood | Stats

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