ORLANDO – The UCF softball team fell in a back-and-forth battle to No. 4 Florida by a score of 12-11 on Sunday night. It was the highest scoring meeting in the UCF vs. Florida all-time series, beating the previous record by seven runs.
"We were right in there," said head coach Cindy Ball-Malone. "We made some cruical errors in some moments and a baserunning error late in the game but we were right there with a top five team. I like where we're at and I love the fight the team had, they never let up."
The Knights were first on the board, plating two in their first at-bats. After two leadoff walks, Shannon Doherty blooped one over the shortstop's head, driving in Johneisha Rowe. Denali Schappacher followed suit, chopping one into the ground and reaching on an infield single, knocking in Kennedy Searcy.
Florida posted a seven spot in the top of the second. The inning started with a walk and a single, followed by a Sarah Longley double, scoring two. Another walk put two runners on and was followed by a Kendra Falby homer to put Florida up 5-2. Starter Kama Woodall was lifted in favor of Angelina Devoe, who came in and got an out right away. The Gators added two more on a two-run homer two batters later, putting them in front 7-2.
The Knights began to chip away at the five-run deficit immediately in their half of the second. Allyse Volpe led off with a double to left field, followed by a Justene Molina infield single that ventured away from the second baseman, allowing Volpe to score. Jada Cody stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and smashed one right to the center fielder, bringing in a run on a sacrifice fly to make it 7-4.
Woodall re-entered the game and posted a zero on the board in the Gator's half of the third, stranding a pair on base. UCF tied the game in the bottom of the third as Searcy walked on four pitches with the bases loaded, bringing in a run. Cody was up next and bounced one up the middle, driving in two more runs to tie the game at 7-7.
The see-saw battle continued as Florida regained the lead in the top of the fourth as one run came across to score on a fielder's choice and an error.
The Knights pulled back into the lead in the home half of the inning, which got going with a one out double by Ashleigh Griffin. Volpe followed, doubling down the left field line, scoring the run to tie the game. The Black and Gold earned their third consecutive double as Katie Burge laced one over the center fielder's head, putting UCF up 9-8. With two outs, Searcy reached on a throwing error, pulling the first baseman off the bag, allowing Burge to score and put the Knights up 10-8 at the end of four innings.
The Gators leveled the contest once again plating two on a single and a walk in the fifth inning. UCF tried to answer as Doherty led off the inning with a double but was ultimately stranded.
Florida jumped into the lead in the top of the sixth inning and scored two more runs on a sacrifice fly and a walk to make it 12-10.
The Knights drew one back in the bottom of the sixth as Micaela Macario singled to lead off the inning and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Rowe was up next and doubled to the right field wall, driving in a run, but was thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple.
The seventh inning was the only frame of the day in which neither team scored a run. Kaitlyn Felton, who was on in relief, set down the Gators in order in their half of the seventh, two of them via the strikeout. Doherty walked to start the bottom of the seventh and was moved over on a Maddie Bejarano sacrifice bunt. UCF went on to strand a pair of runners in their final at-bats, falling 12-11 to the No. 4 team in the country.
The contest was the highest scoring affair between the two sides in the history of the rivalry, as the two teams combined for 23 runs, blowing away the previous high of 16 runs scored on Mar. 26, 2014. UCF has won three of the last five meetings with Florida.
The Knights recorded 15 hits in the ballgame, a season high. Six of the hits were doubles, tying a program record that had been set four times before but remained untouched for nearly a decade. The last time that the Black and Gold as a team had six doubles in a single game was back on Feb. 9, 2013 against UNLV.
Four Knights had multi-hit games, with Doherty and Volpe going 3-for-4 with one RBI and at least one double. Rowe reached base all five times at the top of the lineup, going 2-for-2 with a double, an RBI and three walks, the second time she has drawn three free passes in a game this season. Burge was the other Knight to have more than one hit, going 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
UCF made four errors in the field, tying a season high. The Knights came away with a victory in each of the other contests with four errors, beating No. 12 Georgia and No. 11 Texas.
1,152 fans showed up for the ballgame, which is the second highest attended game in the Ball-Malone era. The UCF Softball Complex record for attendance came back on Apr. 4 in 2018 when the Knights beat the No. 4 ranked Gators 1-0 in front of 1,236 fans. UCF's home field was sold out nearly a week ahead of this season's matchup with their in-state rivals.
The Black and Gold will get another crack at Florida later this season, going to face them in Gainesville on Mar. 30 at 6 p.m. Florida improved to 16-0 in 2022 with the victory Sunday night, continuing their perfect run to start the year. The Knights were able to post 11 runs on the Gators, which equals the amount of runs that Florida had surrendered all season entering the day.
UP NEXT
The Knights will wrap up The Knights Classic sponsored by Knight Pass tomorrow night against Oakland, with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m.
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