ORLANDO, Fla. – Over the last week and a half since the No. 22 UCF softball team's participation in the 2023 Clearwater Invitational, sophomore utility player Savannah Adams' play has paid big dividends in her now-everyday role in head coach Cindy Ball-Malone's lineup.
Following a standout week at the plate as the team's designated player and her first start at first base this season Sunday afternoon, Adams has been recognized by the American Athletic Conference as its Player of the Week.
Adams represents the third Knight to be awarded weekly honors from The American, after right-handed pitcher Kaitlyn Felton won Pitcher of the Week honors and outfielder Chloe Evans received weekly Honor Roll recognition following the season's first week of play. Adams was also recognized with a selection to the conference's weekly Honor Roll last week.
On the heels of a week two display that saw the sophomore hit .500/.500/.900 (5-for-10) with one home run, one double and two RBI in four games, Adams topped her performance throughout the last week in six games against Louisiana, Stetson, Gardner-Webb, (RV) Louisville and Purdue.
In her last six games, five of which she started, Adams slashed .583/.583/1.417 (7-for-12) with an OPS of 2.000, four extra-base hits (one double and three home runs), six RBI, 17 total bases and four runs scored while striking out only twice.
Through her first 12 games this season, the La Mirada, California, native is hitting .500/.500/1.038 (13-for-26) overall, with six extra-base hits (two doubles and four homers), eight RBI, 27 total bases and five runs scored. She has also hit safely in each of her last five games, tying a career-long hit streak for the second time this season.
The sophomore has also recorded two multi-hit games in her last five games, against Gardner-Webb and Purdue, and has collected at least one RBI in each of her last five games.
"I think now, when [the coaching staff tells] me certain mechanical changes, I really process what they're saying, and I don't overthink it," Adams said of her strong start to the season. "I think last year I was overthinking it a little too much, but this year it's very simple."
The recognition represents the second of the season for Adams and the fourth conference honor of her career, after she was named to the 2022 American Athletic Conference All-Tournament team and garnered a weekly Honor Roll selection Feb. 21, 2022.
Following the Knights' Saturday win against the Boilermakers, Adams pointed to her pinch-hit home run in the 2022 American Athletic Conference tournament that lifted UCF to a 4-2 win in eight innings over Houston as a catalyst for a more confident approach at the plate this season.
"I think I just really proved to myself that I could do it in those big moments," Adams added. "In that moment, I was just keeping it simple like how I am this year. That just really gave me that second boost of confidence that I needed."
UP NEXT
The Knights will have three days to reset and recover from a busy schedule during the 2023 Knights Classic tournament before embarking on a trip to Fullerton, California, to partake in the 2023 Judi Garmin Classic.
This week, the Knights will again match up with top-tier competition that includes the UCLA Bruins, the consensus No. 1 team in the nation in last week's rankings, and the Michigan Wolverines, who received votes in the latest NFCA/USA Today top 25. UCF will open the tournament against Fresno State Thursday afternoon, with first pitch from Anderson Family Field slated for 3:30 p.m. ET.