ORLANDO, Fla. – On the heels of their thrilling primetime victory over Mississippi State Sunday night to wrap up the 2023 TaxAct Clearwater Invitational, the No. 22 UCF softball team has a quick turnaround for a busy conclusion to the week.
After enjoying an off-day Monday to recover from its stretch of five games in three days on the Gulf Coast last weekend, UCF will play back-to-back games Tuesday and Wednesday prior to the commencement of the Knights Classic Tournament Thursday afternoon. Up next for the Knights are matchups with the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns at home Tuesday and a tilt against Stetson on the road Wednesday night.
UCF enters its midweek matchups at an even .500 on the season (5-5) following a 2-3 showing in Clearwater. The Knights opened the tournament with a convincing 8-2 victory over the then-No. 25 Michigan Wolverines before dropping two games in extra innings to then-No. 16 Duke and then-No. 12 Alabama and falling to No. 24 Texas A&M after the Aggies put together a late rally.
The Knights wrapped the weekend on a high note, battling back from a blown 5-2 lead against the (RV) Mississippi State Bulldogs to snatch their fifth win of the year, 6-5. Junior utility player Katie Burge ignited the late-inning heroics with a pinch-hit triple to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning and later scored on a Shannon Doherty RBI single. Left-hander Angelina DeVoe quickly sealed UCF's one-run win with 1.2 spotless innings in the circle, striking out four of the five hitters she faced.
Offensively, the Knights have enjoyed a balance from newcomers and veterans alike through their first 10 games. Freshman outfielder Olivia Elliott earned her first two collegiate starts in Clearwater during the weekend and made the most of her opportunity, slugging her first career home run against the Crimson Tide Saturday and driving in two runs with double off the center field wall Sunday night.
Junior transfer outfielder Chloe Evans has been among the most productive for the Knights at the plate thus far, hitting .375/.429/.812 with eight extra-base hits, including three homers and five doubles, and 12 RBI. Junior utility player Jada Cody, fresh off her program-record 75 RBI 2022 season, has seen her offensive production increase of late as well, having notched hits in seven of her last eight games.
First baseman/outfielder Savannah Adams has also enjoyed a hot start to her sophomore season, recording hits in five of her first six games including a long solo homer to center field against Alabama.
In the circle, DeVoe has taken a significant step forward from her already-solid sophomore year, taking on a greater workload out of the bullpen. The junior, after posting a 2.39 ERA in 12 appearances as a sophomore, has already set a season-high in innings with 18.2, including a career-high five frames with just one unearned run allowed in the Knights' Saturday contest against Duke.
During UCF's Sunday win over the Bulldogs, DeVoe's four strikeouts marked a single-game career high, and she has yielded just five earned runs in her last 13 innings of work.
Sophomore righty Kaitlyn Felton has continued her steady beginning to the season as well, producing her second start of at least 5.1 innings Sunday evening. Into Tuesday's action, Felton brings three straight appearances each with three strikeouts and represents the team leader in innings pitched with 24.2.
Tuesday, the Knights will meet a Louisiana squad looking to snap a five-game losing streak following a perfect 5-0 start to its season. The Ragin' Cajuns were also present in Clearwater last weekend, opening their tournament play with a 4-1 win against Indiana before dropping their next five matchups with a handful of top-ranked opponents including the Wolverines, No. 5 Oklahoma State, No. 4 Arkansas, No. 2 UCLA and No. 7 Florida State.
Through its first five games, Louisiana averaged over nine runs per game in wins over Lafayette College, Stephen F. Austin State, and Indiana, but in its five losses has been limited to just under four.
Louisiana this season boasts three hitters who have produced an OPS over 1.000 in 20 or more at-bats, in freshman catcher/infielder Victoria Valdez, senior pitcher/outfielder Karly Heath, and junior infielder Jourdyn Campbell.
Senior Meghan Schorman paces the Ragin' Cajuns in the circle, posting a 2.58 ERA in a team-leading 19 innings of work. The transfer from Kentucky is in her second year in Louisiana, and has issued just four walks against 23 strikeouts, a mark second only to sophomore righty Sam Landry.
The Knights' meeting with Stetson represents UCF's first true road game of the season, against a Hatters team off to a 7-4 start and riding a four-game win streak entering Wednesday's action. Stetson most recently hosted the Hatter Classic, during which the team went 4-1 with wins against Mercer, Fairfield and Monmouth.
The Hatters have outscored their opposition by an aggregate 21 runs to four, including a pair of shutout wins, in their last five games, led by sophomore utility player Kami Eppley's impressive .516 average and 1.236 OPS in 11 games.
The Jacksonville native has hit safely in four straight games, including three multi-hit games in that span, and has collected 21 total bases thus far. Right behind Eppley are Brianna Clary, with a .433 average and a .961 OPS in 11 games, and Evette Morgan, with a .290 average and .776 OPS in her 11 games of action.
In the circle, the duo of junior Lauren Hobbs and freshman Hannah Marien have worked the majority of Stetson's 73 innings, combining for 48 between them. Marien has collected a team-leading 20 strikeouts, accompanied by Hobbs' 17, and the pair have combined to yield nine earned runs and 11 free passes.
First pitch for both matchups Tuesday and Wednesday evening is slated for 6 p.m.
