| No. 10 Georgia vs. No. 15 UCF Thurs., Feb. 9, 6:00 p.m. ET WATCH | LIVE STATS TICKETS | UMass vs. No. 15 UCF Fri., Feb. 10, 4:00 p.m. ET WATCH | LIVE STATS TICKETS |
| RV Boise State vs. No. 15 UCF Fri., Feb. 10, 6:30 p.m. ET WATCH | LIVE STATS TICKETS | RV Ohio State vs. No. 15 UCF Sat., Feb. 11, 5:00 p.m. ET WATCH | LIVE STATS TICKETS |
ORLANDO – The No. 15 UCF Knights softball team, looking to improve upon what was already an historic 2022 spring season, is set to host a competitive field of teams during its season-opening 2023 Black & Gold Classic tournament.
After they began the 2022 slate receiving votes in USA Softball's preseason poll but still finishing outside the preseason top 25 in any of the major polls, the Knights rattled off a 49-win season, marking their best since 50 wins in 2015, culminating in their first Super Regional appearance.
For its efforts, 15th-ranked UCF has been rewarded with a spot in the 2023 preseason top 25 of each of the six major polls: the NCAA, NFCA/USA Today, ESPN/USA Softball, D1Softball, Softball America and Extra Inning Softball, with their highest coming at No. 15 from D1Softball and the NCAA.
The No. 15 Knights will open their season against the No. 10 Georgia Bulldogs for the second consecutive season Thursday night, kicking off a tournament slate that sees three of its first four opponents of the year at least receiving preseason top 25 votes.
UCF put on a show in its season-opener hosting the Bulldogs last year, as the Knights edged then-No. 12 Georgia by a 7-6 final score in eight innings punctuated by first baseman Shannon Doherty's walk-off home run. Doherty's homer, which marked the first of her two walk-off blasts last year, also gave the Knights their first win in program history over the Bulldogs in the third meeting between the two schools.
No. 10 Georgia is coming off a strong 2022 campaign that saw the Bulldogs achieve a 43-18 record and advance as far as the NCAA Durham Regional, all while playing the 18th-hardest strength of schedule in the country according to the NCAA's RPI rankings. Their strength a year ago was a potent offensive group that at season's end ranked within the top 20 in the nation in batting average, doubles, home runs per game, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and runs per game.
While Georgia graduated one of its top hitters in infielder Lacey Fincher last season, the Bulldogs still return most of its offensive talent from a season ago, headlined by senior infielder Sara Mosely. The Ellijay, Georgia, native recorded a team-leading .418 average last year accompanied by a 1.237 OPS and 29 extra-base hits in her 57 games.
The Bulldogs' pitching staff, meanwhile, represents a bit of a question mark, as its 4.05 team ERA last year slotted the group outside the top 180 teams in the nation in the category, and just one Bulldogs pitcher, now-junior RHP Madison Kerpics, finished the season with an ERA south of 4.62.
No. 15 UCF does not have to wait long for its first doubleheader action of the new season, as the Knights on Friday will square off against UMass and RV Boise State.
The Minutewomen, who will face UCF for just the second time and first since 2013, enter their new season looking to improve upon a 19-32 showing a year ago that ended with consecutive defeats to Saint Joseph's and Dayton in the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament.
The team's top hitter Bella Pantoja returns for her junior season after hitting .306 with 10 extra-base hits and a .366 on-base percentage last year, and staff ace Jessie DiPasquale is back for her senior season after leading the squad with a 3.42 ERA and 120 strikeouts against 62 walks in 149.1 innings of work.
RV Boise State received a vote in ESPN/USA Softball's preseason top 25 on the heels of a strong 40-10 campaign. The Broncos' 19-5 record within the Mountain West was just edged by San Diego State's 20-4 mark for the regular-season conference championship.
Boise State's powerful 2022 offense was led by a quintet of hitters who produced an OPS north of 1.000, headlined by now-senior Kelsey Hall's .392 average and 1.280 OPS in 46 games. The meeting between the two schools will also represent the first in program history.
No. 15 UCF will conclude the Black & Gold Classic with the eighth meeting against the RV Ohio State Buckeyes in program history, and first since 2019. The Buckeyes, receiving four votes in ESPN/USA Softball's preseason top 25, produced a 36-17 record last season, including a 13-9 mark within the Big Ten. After falling to Nebraska in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal, Ohio State capped its season with a 1-2 showing in NCAA Regional play in Knoxville, Tennessee.
The Black & Gold Classic
The No. 15 Knights will also host several neutral site matchups throughout the weekend to round out the festivities at the UCF Softball Complex. The full schedule for the Black & Gold Classic is as follows.
February 9
6:00 p.m. – No. 10 Georgia vs. No. 15 UCF | Stats
February 10
11:00 a.m. – RV Ohio State vs. No. 10 Georgia | Stats
1:30 p.m. – RV Boise State vs. No. 10 Georgia | Stats
4:00 p.m. – UMass vs. No. 15 UCF | Stats
6:30 p.m. – RV Boise State vs. No. 15 UCF | Stats
February 11
9:30 a.m. – No. 10 Georgia vs. UMass | Stats
12:00 p.m. – RV Boise State vs. UMass | Stats
2:30 p.m. – RV Ohio State vs. RV Boise State | Stats
5:00 p.m. – RV Ohio State vs. No. 15 UCF | Stats
February 12
9:00 a.m. – No. 10 Georgia vs. RV Boise State | Stats
11:00 a.m. – UMass vs. Ohio State | Stats
OPENING WEEKEND
The Knights open their season against the 10th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, marking the second straight season that UCF has drawn an Opening Knight matchup with Georgia. The season-opener is the first of four games the Knights will play during the Black & Gold Classic at the UCF Softball Complex, followed by a pair of Friday matchups against UMass and Boise State on Feb. 10 and a Saturday evening tilt against Ohio State on Feb. 11.
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