#17 UCF Beats Tulsa 2-1 for Series Win#17 UCF Beats Tulsa 2-1 for Series Win

#17 UCF Beats Tulsa 2-1 for Series Win

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ORLANDO – The No. 17 UCF softball team secured another American Athletic Conference series victory on Saturday, beating Tulsa 2-1 to improve to 41-11 on the season and 13-1 in conference play.

"Dominant pitching, routine defense and clutch hitting again," said head coach Cindy Ball-Malone. "I'd like to say it was more fancy or special than that, but honestly, we need to play better ball. We have strong pitching to keep us in games, but we're a better team than we're playing, so we need to play better ball."

Tulsa scored first in the contest, as the second inning began with a walk, followed by a single through the left side. With runners on first and second, the next Golden Hurricane grounded into a fielder's choice, putting runners on the corners. Another fielder's choice occurred next, as Claira Skaggs drove home Abby Jones on the play.

The Knights responded in the home half of the second inning with a pair of runs. With the bases loaded and one out, Justene Molina ripped one to right, allowing Denali Schappacher to come across to score. UCF took the lead on an Allyse Volpe single to left as Ashleigh Griffin scored. Johneisha Rowe rounded third and nearly added another run to the board but was called out on a bang-bang play at the plate.

Kama Woodall earned her third complete game of the season, pitching all seven innings while allowing just the one run and striking out four in exactly 100 pitches. She dropped her ERA below the 2.00 mark, now boasting a 1.94 clip. She joins Gianna Mancha in the sub 2.00 ERA club, as she has recorded a 1.60 ERA so far. Both Woodall and Mancha entered the weekend ranked in the top 100 nationally for ERA. Woodall's record improves to 15-3 with the victory. As a pitching staff, the Knights have a 0.94 ERA while holding batters to a .137 average at the plate.

Tulsa threatened in their final at bat of the afternoon. With one out and a runner on first, the Golden Hurricane's ninth batter laid down a successful sacrifice bunt, moving the runner into scoring position with their leadoff hitter up at the dish. The Tulsa hitter smacked the second pitch of the at bat, but saw it fly into the glove of a diving Kennedy Searcy, who perhaps saved the game from being tied with an incredible play in the infield.

With just four games remaining in the regular season, the Knights have secured a top two seed at the American Athletic Conference Championship. The Black and Gold were picked to finish third in this year's preseason coaches poll. UCF still holds a one game lead over Wichita State. The regular season conference title will ultimately come down to the final series of the season, as the Knights will visit the Shockers following their series with Tulsa.

UP NEXT
UCF will wrap up their regular season home slate with a noon start time against Tulsa on Sunday. The contest will be followed an on field, post-game ceremony with the seniors and their families.

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