ORLANDO, Fla. – The No. 14 UCF Knights softball team concluded the early section of its 2023 schedule Wednesday evening, winning three of its first five games in a stretch that included two ranked opponents (No. 10 Georgia and No. 23 Missouri) and two more that received votes in national polls (Boise State and Ohio State).
With a Wednesday 11-8 defeat to the 23rd-ranked Tigers squad now in the rear-view mirror, the schedule ahead of the Knights only becomes more of a challenge. UCF will have the benefit of an off-day Thursday, Feb. 16, before embarking on a stretch that includes 12 games in 10 days, beginning with this weekend's annual TaxAct Clearwater Invitational tournament hosted in Clearwater, Florida, Feb. 17-19.
The 3-2 Knights enter the tournament led offensively by junior transfer outfielder Chloe Evans. The Seymour, Wisconsin native has enjoyed a standout beginning to her UCF career, hitting .533/.588/1.133 (8-for-15) with two home runs, three doubles and seven RBI. Evans has hit safely in each of her first five games this season, including a trio of multi-hit games against No. 10 Georgia, RV Boise State and No. 23 Missouri.
Utility/third baseman Jada Cody has also begun to find her footing at the plate this season, and most recently drilled a first inning solo home run in the Knights' Wednesday matchup with Missouri to move into sole possession of fifth place on the all-time UCF RBI list with 123.
In the circle, sophomore right-hander Kaitlyn Felton has represented the Knights' most consistent hurler through five games, posting a 2.05 ERA in a team-leading 13.2 innings of work. Prior to her start against the Tigers Wednesday night, Felton had allowed only two unearned runs in her first 11.1 innings of the year, and was named American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week after collecting a career-high 13 strikeouts in her first career seven-inning complete game against UMass during the Black & Gold Classic last weekend.
"I'm excited to see what we have to come; I think Clearwater is going to be a great test for us," said utility/third baseman Jada Cody. "It was a big setting for us [last year]. It was the first time for most of us, and we didn't know what to expect. This year, we have a lot of returners who know what Clearwater is and how it runs, so I'm excited to see what we have this year."
Beginning Friday afternoon, UCF will play five games in three days, starting with a Friday doubleheader that includes a 2022 Orlando Regional rematch with the No. 25 Michigan Wolverines and an evening matchup with Texas A&M.
UCF will be meeting the Wolverines for the first time since last year's Orlando Regional in the NCAA postseason, when the Knights eliminated then-No. 24 Michigan in two games by 3-2 (11 innings) and 9-4 final scores. UCF catcher/DP Ashleigh Griffin starred offensively during the regional, going 1-for-5 with a key RBI double in the first opener and 2-for-4 with a solo home run, an RBI single and three RBI in Game 2.
The two wins built the Knights' win streak against the Wolverines to three straight after UCF had dropped each of the first seven meetings between the two schools, though Michigan still leads the all-time series seven games to three. The Wolverines have played the entirety of their early schedule in Florida this season, winning four of their first five games against South Florida, Colgate, Western Kentucky and Portland State in Leesburg and Tampa.
Graduate student outfielder Lexie Blair has paced the Wolverines at the plate, hitting .471/.526/.706 (8-for-17) with a 1.232 OPS through five games, and a pair of pitchers, Jessica LeBeau and Lauren Derkowski, have both appeared in all five games thus far, posting ERAs of 0.00 and 0.89, respectively, both in 15.2 innings of work.
The Knights will meet Texas A&M in the nightcap of their first day, squaring off against the Aggies for just the second time in program history and the first time since 2016. The Aggies are off to a 6-0 start this season with wins over Tarleton, Northern Kentucky, Michigan State and Texas A&M-Commerce during the Texas A&M Invitational in Bryan-College Station, Texas.
The Aggies boast seven players with at least five appearances who also own an OPS north of 1.000, led by Trinity Cannon, who enters the weekend hitting .667/.810/1.083 with a 1.893 OPS. In the circle, three Aggies pitchers have made at least two appearances, Emily Leavitt, Emiley Kennedy and Shaylee Ackerman, allowing only three total runs in a combined 29 innings with 41 strikeouts against five walks.
UCF will open Day Two of the tournament against No. 17 Duke at 10 a.m. and will face No. 12 Alabama Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. The Blue Devils struggled through an 0-2 start to their season before winning each of their last three games during the Mark Campbell Invitational in Irvine, California.
Led by .471 and .500 averages by Deja Davis and D'Auna Jennings, Duke topped San Jose State 11-2 in five innings before outlasting Liberty 8-5 in eight innings and besting No. 13 Stanford 4-2. The Knights will meet the Blue Devils for the third time in program history, with the all-time series tied at one game apiece after the two schools split a two-game series in February 2020.
The 2-1 Crimson Tide, meanwhile, have played only three games with their latest tilt against Lehigh canceled due to inclement weather and no plans to reschedule. Alabama dropped its season-opener to Lehigh, 7-4, before topping Georgia Southern in two games by 8-2 and 13-1 (5 innings) final scores. The game will represent the seventh meeting between the two schools, and the first since 2017. Alabama leads the all-time series 4-2.
UCF will wrap up the tournament on ESPN2 against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, clashing with the team for the first time in program history. Mississippi State is looking to snap a two-game skid after beginning the season 3-0 with wins over Florida Atlantic, Loyola Chicago and Bethune-Cookman.
Macy Graf has paced the Bulldogs at the plate through their first five games, hitting .636/.714/.636 (7-for-11), followed closely by Brylie St. Clair and Chloe Malau'ulu, who are slashing .462/.429/.462 and .412/.500/.765, respectively. Aspen Wesley leads the Bulldogs with 10.1 innings of work through the team's first five games, allowing three runs (one earned) with 11 strikeouts against two walks.
COMPLETE UCF SOFTBALL TAXACT CLEARWATER INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE
Feb. 17: vs. No. 25 Michigan (3 p.m.), vs. Texas A&M (7 p.m.)
Feb. 18: vs. No. 17 Duke (10 a.m.), vs. No. 12 Alabama (2:30 p.m.)
Feb. 19: vs. Mississippi State (8 p.m.)
All games will be broadcast on ESPN+, with the exception of the Knights' final game against Mississippi State, which will be carried on ESPN2.
