TAMPA, Fla. – The No. 23 UCF softball team earned its first sweep of South Florida and extend its winning streak to 18 games with a 3-0 victory. Gianna Mancha tossed a complete-game one-hitter to secure the win and even the all-time series with the Bulls at 19-19.
"This group is different," said head coach Cindy Ball-Malone. "We've been different since the moment we got together in August. I'm so proud of them and love what our leaders did today."
The Knights scored in the first inning for the second straight game and homered for a season-high seventh contest in a row. Kennedy Searcy got every stitch of a 3-2 pitch and sent it way beyond the center-field fence for her fifth homer of the season. It's her second of the series and second off the Bulls' ace Georgina Corrick. The blast put UCF up 1-0.
The scoreboard stayed that way until the top of the sixth inning. Searcy drew a leadoff walk on five pitches, bringing Jada Cody to the plate. She jumped on the first pitch and scorched one down the left field line and well over the wall for her 10th homer of the season. The NCAA's RBI leader added two more to her total on the day, jumping to 53 this season. UCF's single season record sits at 66, held by Stephanie Best who recorded that total in 2003.
Gianna Mancha kept the Bull bats quiet, allowing just one hit while striking out 10 batters in her third complete-game one-hitter of the season. The lone hit was on an awkward infield single. Mancha was remarkable all weekend long, tossing a two-hitter and a one-hit shutout. In total, she tallied 19 strikeouts over 14 innings, allowing just three hits and holding opponents to a .065 batting average. Mancha now boasts a 1.85 ERA and 112 strikeouts this season, eclipsing the 300-strikeout mark as a Knight.
"When the going gets tough, she just gets better," said Ball-Malone. "I love how she kept us in there and kept the momentum in our hands when we were only up by a run and once we got the other two insurance runs, she just kept doing her thing.
South Florida's Corrick entered the weekend leading the nation in ERA, posting a miniscule 0.14 clip while allowing just three earned runs all season. In two games, the Knights tacked eight earned runs onto her line, bumping her ERA to 0.48 and handing her two of three losses in the process. She was able to hold the Knights to just a .208 batting average as a team in her two outings as opposed to UCF's season average of .323 entering the weekend, which ranked 23rd in the country. UCF homered off Corrick three times this weekend, which was the same amount she had surrendered entering the series.
"Corrick is a great pitcher," said Ball-Malone. "There are still some things I would like us to do better, but she's tough. I like how we stuck through it and kept swinging and got the hits when we needed them."
Sunday's result secures UCF's first sweep over their rivals in program history. The Black and Gold were close in 2021, taking three of four at in Orlando. Now, the Knights have won seven-straight against South Florida to tie the all-time series at 19-19.
The Black and Gold's 18 straight victories is the second-longest winning streak in program history and is closing in on the all-time record of 21 in a row set in the program's first season in 2002.
UP NEXT
The Knights will visit No. 6 Florida in a midweek matchup on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Gainesville, Fla. The two sides met earlier in the season with the Gators coming away with a 12-11 victory.
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