STOCKTON, Calif. – The UCF softball team is set for their first two games of seven in the state of California this week as the Knights visit Pacific on Tuesday night at 9 p.m. ET followed by a trip to Fresno State on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET.
UCF wrapped up its weekend by going 4-1, splitting a two-game set with South Carolina before sweeping FGCU in a three-game series. Jada Cody was impressive all weekend long, going 8-for-15 with four homers and 14 RBI. Her performance earned her an American Athletic Conference Player of the Week nod. Cody's 14 RBI brought her season total to 30, a career high already just 22 games into the season. She is second in the country in RBI coming into the week.
The initial release of the NCAA RPI dropped on Monday as the Black and Gold checked in at No. 19. Despite being the top 25 in the RPI, the Knights fell out of the top 25 in both majors polls this week but are just a handful of voting points away from re-entering. They are listed as the first team in the receiving votes section in both the NFCA and USA Softball polls.
Despite the Black and Gold taking their first road trip of the 2022 season, it may feel like home for roughly half the team as 11 Knights on the roster hail from the state of California. Each player comes from a different city in The Golden State, but each will get to spend a week in the state they called home.
Head coach Cindy Ball-Malone will have a homecoming of her own, as she returns to her alma mater of Pacific for the first time as an opposing head coach. She'll face her former head coach, Brian Kolze, who has been with the Tigers for 30 seasons. Ball-Malone, along with assistant coach Whitney Jones, are also originally from California.
Pacific enters the contest with a 6-13 record this season and have gone 3-7 over their last 10 games. They've had their struggles offensively at times, posting an average of 2.84 runs per game, ranking them 233rd in the country. The Tigers found some success recently, winning three of five games at the Libby Matson Tournament, sweeping Idaho State and picking up a win over Seton Hall.
Carly Lucchetti has been a bright spot for Pacific, batting .423. Rian Dirmeyer has collected four homers and 12 RBI, good enough for the team lead in both categories. In the circle, Vanessa Strong leads the team in innings pitched and strikeouts, tossing 43.2 innings and retiring 38 batters on strikes. She also leads the team in wins with three.
Fresno State awaits the Knights on Wednesday night with a 3-15 record so far. They are ranked 225th or lower in the country in team batting average, on base percentage, slugging percentage and runs per game. Mackenna Steel leads the team with a .290 batting average. Aleisa Denby is the lone Bulldog in double digits for home runs, collecting two. Four different Fresno State Players have five RBI each. The Bulldogs see their opponents hit .337 against them while posting a team ERA of 6.64.
UCF matched up with Fresno State earlier this season, winning 6-1 in the third game of the campaign. Kaitlyn Felton made her first career start and did not disappoint, tossing six innings of work, allowing just three hits while striking out four and surrendering just one run which was unearned. Cody put on a clinic at the plate, going 2-for-4 with four RBI, three of them via a first inning three-run home run.
Following Wednesday, the Black and Gold will play five more games in California as part of the Louisville Slugger Invitational. The Knights will face Boston on Friday, Iowa State and Cal State Fullerton on Saturday and Nebraska and Long Beach State on Sunday.
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