ORLANDO – The UCF softball team earned its fourth shutout in six games and third of The Knights Classic as they blanked Oakland 3-0 on Monday night.
"This game is funny. Pitching was pretty dominant today and our bats were a little different from yesterday," said head coach Cindy Ball-Malone. "It's tough. We're super young and we keep talking about that. What is the emotional recovery like from that last exciting game? If my phone is blowing up, the players' is probably two or three times that. Being able to come back and play this game against a very good and gritty team is tough, and I love how our team just stuck in it.
The game began as a pitcher's duel with no runs scored through the first three innings. Gianna Mancha was sharp from the start, punching out three in the first three frames. Oakland's starter, Sydney Campbell, was sharp over that time as well, holding UCF to just three hits in the early going.
The Knights broke the goose egg in the run column in the fourth inning. Things got started with a leadoff walk by Shannon Doherty, who advanced to second on a groundout by the following batter. With two down in the inning, Allyse Volpe grounded one to the left side, but the throw was offline and tipped off the first baseman's glove and went awry, allowing Doherty to come around to score.
UCF added a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth as Savannah Adams worked her way on with a pinch-hit single, followed by a Volpe single. Justene Molina stepped into the box next and smashed one over the center fielder's head, driving both runners home and extending UCF's lead to 3-0.
Oakland ended up sending the tying run to the plate after two runners reached on an error and a walk with just one away. Mancha got the second out with a strikeout and ended the contest with a flyout to center.
Mancha finished the night with eight strikeouts and tossed her third complete game of the season. She's up to two solo shutouts and one combined in 2022 and has improved her ERA to 2.60. She has a total of 40 strikeouts on the campaign and has held batters to a .218 batting average against.
The start of the contest was delayed by an hour and 17 minutes due to rain and lightning in the area.
UP NEXT
The Knights will be back in action on Friday as they host South Carolina and FGCU in a double header. UCF will face South Carolina at 4:30 before facing FGCU at 7 p.m. The Black and Gold will face South Carolina twice and FGCU three times over the course of the weekend.
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