ORLANDO – Two members of the UCF softball team have been recognized by the American Athletic Conference this week as Jada Cody earned the conference's Player of the Week award while Gianna Mancha was tabbed as the Pitcher of the Week.
"I could not be prouder of how Gianna and Jada represent our team," said head coach Cindy Ball-Malone. "They set the tone for what this season could be when they chose to stay on campus to train every day last summer. They're trusting themselves, their teammates and all the work they have put in over the last 10 months."
Mancha got the weekend started by tossing the second no-hitter of her career, shutting down Furman in an 8-0 win in game one of UCF's double header. She threw six innings while striking out eight to write herself into the history book once again. Her last no-hitter was last season, a 13-strikeout performance on the road against Memphis. Her season ERA is down to 2.01 while holding batters to a .195 average and has compiled a team-high 93 strikeouts.
Cody had a week to remember, earning seven hits with six of them being for extra bases. Overall, she hit .636 (7-for-12), collecting three doubles, two triples and a homer while driving in 10 RBI. The six extra-base hits helped boost her slugging percentage to 1.545 and her OPS to 2.145 for the week. Cody is now at 50 RBI this season and is the fastest Knight to ever reach that point. It is the third-most RBI collected in a single season, trailing only Stephanie Best's 66 and 60 RBI seasons.
Cody came to the plate with the bases loaded in game one of UCF's Saturday double header with the Knights up 6-0 in the sixth. Mancha had just wrapped up her sixth inning of no-hit softball from the circle. Cody made sure she didn't have to come back out, smashing a two-RBI double to the wall, ending the game in an 8-0 run-rule.
This is the second time this season that Cody has been honored as The American's Player of the Week. She was bestowed the honor on Mar. 7 after hitting .444 and smashing four homers and 14 RBI. Micaela Macario has also earned the honor this season back on Feb. 28 after batting .462 with two doubles and 10 RBI the week prior.
A handful of Knights have landed on the conference's weekly honor roll this year, including Mancha and Cody, who have earned the nod twice. Savannah Adams and Kaitlyn Felton have also seen their names listed on the honor roll in 2022.
UP NEXT
The Knights will open American Athletic Conference play as they pay a visit to their rivals on the other side of I-4 in the Bulls. The series at South Florida starts on Friday at 4 p.m., followed by contests on Saturday and Sunday at 6 p.m. and 4 p.m. respectively.
"We were able to grind through a very tough pre-conference schedule and our entire team has responded in a very positive way. You can really see how our team has stayed together, grown together and adjusted week to week and game to game. We have good momentum heading into conference play this weekend."
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