ORLANDO – The No. 17 UCF softball team wrapped up Senior Day in storybook fashion, as seniors Gianna Mancha and Kama Woodall made their way into the record book by throwing a combined no-hitter, the 20th in program history. The day ended in walk-off fashion as Justene Molina laced an RBI triple down the right field line to give UCF the 8-0 win over Tulsa in six innings.
"The game speaks to who they are as people and what they've done this year and the season that we've had; I couldn't be more proud of them" said head coach Cindy Ball-Malone. "On offense, I think we were still a little tight. We started to loosen up and eventually everyone in the lineup got a hit. That's more of our game, I want to see us stay loose like that."
The Knights got on the board early, plating a run in the first inning. With one out, Kennedy Searcy singled to climb aboard and later advanced to second on a passed ball. With two gone, Shannon Doherty singled through the right side, scoring Searcy to give the Black and Gold the 1-0 edge.
UCF added another run to the scoreboard in the second as Allyse Volpe drew a walk with the bases loaded to make it 2-0.
The Black and Gold had a big fourth inning, scoring four times. The inning got going with a Volpe single, before being moved over on a Searcy sacrifice bunt. Jada Cody walked, making way for Doherty who doubled to center field on the first pitch she saw, driving in two runs. The double chased starter Samantha Pochop in favor of Makenzie Brown. Ashleigh Griffin welcomed the new arm into the game with a double of her own, advancing Doherty to third. With two outs, Doherty scampered to home on a wild pitch while Griffin moved up to third. Senior Damaria Cannon earned a pinch-hit appearance off the bench and came through in the clutch, singling up the middle to score Griffin, giving UCF a 6-0 lead.
Cody got in on the action in the bottom of the fifth, doubling to left-center field to score Searcy and bring her RBI total to 62 this season. She now sits four shy of tying Stephanie Best's record of 66 set back in 2003. Cody's RBI put the Knights up 7-0.
Molina got UCF to the run-rule with a triple down the first base line, smashing one just over the bag and into the corner, allowing Johneisha Rowe to come all the way around to score.
Every starter in the UCF lineup got at least one hit on the day, as the Knights posted a total of 14 hits. The last time the Black and Gold compiled 14 hits was on Mar. 9 at Fresno State in a 10-2 victory. UCF has only reached the 14-hit mark three times this season, the other time coming in the 15-10 win over No. 11 Texas.
Mancha and Woodall were nothing short of incredible once again. Mancha got the start and the victory, improving to 19-3 and is a win away from cracking onto the single season victories list at UCF. She tossed 4.2 innings, striking out four while walking two. She was lifted from the game by Coach Ball-Malone to have her moment, as the crowd gave Mancha a standing ovation as she exited the game, stopping to hug entering pitcher Woodall as well as Alea White, her teammate for many years and current graduate assistant on staff.
Woodall picked up right where Mancha left off, getting the first batter she faced to groundout to second on a 3-2 count. Woodall set down all three Golden Hurricane batters in order in the top of the sixth, striking out each one.
The no-hitter is the second of the season for the Knights and is the third UCF no-hitter with Mancha's name on it. After tossing a no-hitter on Apr. 23, 2021 at Memphis with 13 strikeouts, Mancha earned another earlier this season in March, throwing a no-hitter at home against Furman. Sunday's game was just the second time in 20 UCF no-hitters that it was a combined no-no, the only other time being a Mackenzie Audas and Mackenzie Huhn no hitter on Mar. 18, 2014. There are now two UCF no-hitters that have happened on May 1, the other occurrence being back in 2012 when Audas no-hit Bethune-Cookman. It's the first time in program history that a no-hitter has been thrown on senior day.
"There were a lot of emotions before the game, but it was awesome to get that win for one and watch our offense go crazy," said Mancha. "I was just excited to see Kama come in and do what she did."
"I think that game was everything coming together the way it was supposed to," said Woodall. "Our whole team locked in and went hard throughout the game and it was exactly what we wanted."
UCF has reached the 42-win mark with the win, topping last year's victory total as the 2021 Knights finished the season 41-19-1. It's the first season with 42 or more victories since the 2015 squad went 50-9.
The seniors of the program, along with coach Ball-Malone, have created quite the run over the past three seasons. They have protected The Plex, going 57-14-1 in home games and posting an overall record of 104-35-2.
There is more softball to be played, as the Knights will head to Wichita State to face the Shockers in a series that will ultimately decide the regular season conference championship in the American Athletic Conference. UCF is currently one game ahead of Wichita State in the conference standings and will look to finish the final three games of the regular season on a high note and win the team's first conference title since 2015.
UP NEXT
The Knights' series with the Shockers will begin on Friday at 7 p.m. ET, followed by game two at 2 p.m. ET and the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
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