WITCHITA, Kan. – The No. 19 UCF softball team beat Wichita State 9-5 in the team's regular season finale on Sunday as the Knights secured the outright 2022 American Athletic Conference regular season championship and the number one seed in the upcoming conference tournament.
"I'm proud but not surprised," said head coach Cindy Ball-Malone. "It's been our goal since day one. We've been talking about it all season and they've worked their tails off for it. There's tradition in the past, present and future of this program and it's awesome."
The regular season championship is the first since 2015 when the Knights won both the regular season and conference tournament. This is the third occasion in which UCF has won the regular season title, with the 2022 crown joining 2014 and 2015. The Black and Gold have three conference tournament titles, winning the ASUN in 2005, Conference USA in 2008 and The American in 2015.
We've built up to it," said Ball-Malone. "Even though this team won it, I truly think this started with Team 19 in that 2020 season, just getting things turned around and really making it a goal and talking about it and working towards it. It's been that same vision that we've carried on with some of these leaders that's been on past teams. But again, we're back to where we need to be and where the program was, and we're not done yet."
The Shockers were the first to put a run on the board in the ballgame as Sydney McKinney homered to center field with the ball bouncing off the top of the wall and over to take a 1-0 lead.
UCF tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the third with an Allyse Volpe single back up the middle, allowing Micaela Macario to score. Macario worked a leadoff single to climb aboard and swiped her 18th bag in her rookie campaign.
Wichita State got that run back in the bottom of the third on a solo home run down the left field line, just barely squeaking out as Lauren Lucas hit her 10th of the year.
The Knights took the lead in their next at bats. With two down in the inning, Justene Molina stepped up to the plate with runners at first and second. She wasted no time, smashing the first pitch she saw over the left-center field fence for a three-run shot, putting UCF up 4-2.
This go-ahead ??…CLUTCH! pic.twitter.com/6FdFAfT29u
— UCF Knights (@UCFKnights) May 8, 2022
Molina came into the season with just four career home runs, one in each season. She now has three on the 2022 campaign, with two coming at Houston on Apr. 24 and the other in Sunday's contest.
The Knights broke the contest open in the top of the sixth inning. With one down, Kennedy Searcy sent one back up the middle, allowing Molina to score, who climbed aboard via a one out walk. Jada Cody kept the line moving, grounding one to the pitcher who bobbled the ball, letting Macario to score, making it 6-2. After a walk to Shannon Doherty to load the bases, Ashleigh Griffin unloaded them, doubling to the right-center field gap to tally three RBI and push the Knight lead to 9-2.
Ash smoked this one, making it a five-run sixth inning! ?? #ChargeOn pic.twitter.com/QaGFxEqs8X
— UCF Softball (@UCF_Softball) May 8, 2022
"We got the big hit from Justene and then the bases clearing double from Ashleigh, those are huge moments for us," said Ball-Malone.
Wichita State didn't go quietly though, as they plated three more runs of their own, thanks to a Cassie Passwaters pinch-hit home run. Each of the Shockers' five-runs came via the home run.
Gianna Mancha and Kama Woodall combined to secure the victory for the Knights, with Mancha getting the start, going five innings, surrendering four earned runs on six hits while striking out five and walking four. She went on to earn the victory, her 20th of the season. Woodall finished the job, working two frames, allowing one earned run on three hits and punching out one in eight batters faced. She forced the game-ending double play, as UCF burst from the dugout and celebrated in the circle.
The final out to secure our 3rd regular season AAC ?? in program history! pic.twitter.com/5XjdXHfDFD
— UCF Softball (@UCF_Softball) May 8, 2022
"When you play a team the third time through, normally the bats will get a little hotter because they've seen the pitchers and its hard to face teams three times in a weekend, and they're a good hitting team," said Ball-Malone. "Our team knew we needed to score a good amount of runs because they typically score via the home run."
UP NEXT
The Knights await their matchup at the American Athletic Conference Championship, as they've earned a bye into the semifinals with the regular season crown. They will face either fourth-seeded Houston or fifth-seeded Tulsa in the semifinal on Friday at 1 p.m. ET.
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