| GAME ONE Sun., Apr. 3, 2 p.m. WATCH (ESPN+) | LIVE STATS | GAME TWO Sun., Apr. 3, 4 p.m. WATCH (ESPN+) | LIVE STATS | GAME THREE Sun., Apr. 4, 6 p.m. WATCH (ESPN+) | LIVE STATS |
ORLANDO – The No. 20 UCF softball team returns home for a series with No. 5 Virginia Tech. The Knights will host the Hokies in a double header on Sunday starting at 2 p.m. followed by the series finale on Monday at 6 p.m.
The Black and Gold saw their 18-game winning streak come to an end in Gainesville on Wednesday, just the team's second loss in the month of March, going 18-2. It was the team's best March since 2015 where the Knights went 21-2 on their way to a 50-9 record and an appearance in the 2015 NCAA Tallahassee regional final. UCF's winning streak will go down as the second longest in program history, just behind the team's 21, accomplished in the first season of Knights' softball in 2002.
Kennedy Searcy enters the week on a tear, reaching base in 20 straight games. She homered twice last weekend against Florida on her way to a spot on the American Athletic Conference's weekly honor roll. Gianna Mancha earned her second consecutive American Pitcher of the Week nod after tossing 14 innings pitched while striking out 19 and allowing only three hits last weekend. She held Bulls hitters to a .065 batting average against.
Jada Cody is still on pace to beat Stephanie Best's single-season RBI record of 66, set back in 2003. Best also holds the second spot on that same list, tallying 60 RBI in 2005. Cody currently sits at 53 with a chance to claim the second spot this weekend. She's had big weekends with seven or more RBI before and has thrived in double headers, batting .439 with seven home runs and 35 RBI. Shannon Doherty has also excelled in double headers this season, hitting .405 with a pair of homers and 10 RBI.
Denali Schappacher has continued to climb UCF's career charts this season and currently sits third all-time in batting average with a .338 clip. In the team's last contests against No. 7 Florida, she collected two hits, jumping from ninth to a tie of seventh with 207 career knocks. She also hit her third triple of the season, bringing her career total to eight and moving her into a tie of fifth all-time.
UCF and Virginia Tech have only faced each other four times, with the last meeting coming in 2018 where the Black and Gold came away with a 1-0 win. The Hokies were victorious in the other three meetings, beating the Black and Gold in 2007, 2011 and 2014.
Virginia Tech has won 14 consecutive games coming into the weekend, posting a record of 25-3 so far. The Hokies are third in the RPI and fifth in every major poll, meaning the Knights will play four straight games against top 10 teams. Virginia Tech has earned ranked wins over No. 11 Missouri, No. 19 Kentucky and a series sweep of No. 14 Clemson.
The Hokies have eight players batting .300 or better, including Emma Ritter who is batting an impressive .467 to lead the team. She also leads the team in extra base hits, tallying five doubles, three triples and five home runs. Keely Rochard leads the teams in innings pitch (92.2), strikeouts (165), wins (13) and ERA (1.13). As a staff, the Hokies have a combined for a 1.44 ERA, ranking them fifth in the country.
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