ORLANDO, Fla. – Freshman utility infielder Aubrey Evans and junior right-handed starter Sarah Willis both played instrumental roles in the (RV) UCF softball team's current five-game win streak, and the pair has been recognized for their efforts by the American Athletic Conference with selections as the conference Player of the Week and weekly Honor Roll, respectively.
For Evans, the award marks the first conference weekly honor of her young career, and Willis garners a selection to The American's weekly Honor Roll for the second consecutive week. Evans also becomes the third Knight to be recognized as Player or Pitcher of the Week, joining right-hander Kaitlyn Felton and utility player Savannah Adams.
Overall, Aubrey becomes the fifth Knight to be recognized by the conference's weekly honors as well, as outfielder Chloe Evans was also awarded a selection to the weekly Honor Roll Feb. 13.
The last six games were the latest chapter in a breakout freshman season for Aubrey, as she represented the team's leading hitter in that span with a .412/.524/.706 (7-for-17) line accompanied by a 1.230 OPS, five doubles, three runs scored, eight RBI, 12 total bases and four walks.
Her weekend was highlighted by a three-double, five-RBI performance in the Knights' doubleheader nightcap against Kennesaw State Saturday evening. In the winning effort, Aubrey became the first Knight with a three-double game since NCAA data is available in 2015. Her five RBI also marked the highest individual single-game total by a Knight this season.
She also produced a pair of multi-hit games March 11 and 12 after recording just one two-hit game in her previous 20 games entering the weekend tournament.
Aubrey's standout week added on to an already-impressive collegiate debut season, as the Apopka, Florida, native now boasts an overall .333 average (18-for-54), .429 on-base percentage and a .537 slugging percentage, along with 10 extra-base hits (nine doubles and one triple), 10 RBI, 29 total bases and nine walks against just five strikeouts.
Willis, meanwhile, continued her recent stretch of dominance in the circle with 14.2 innings of three-run ball over the past week. She received the nod from head coach Cindy Ball-Malone for the midweek start against No. 8 Florida and limited the potent Gators offense to just two runs in 4.1 innings while striking out five.
The junior transfer followed with a pair of five-inning starts against Toledo and Kennesaw State during the weekend Round Robin, yielding just one run on six hits in her 10 innings while striking out seven and walking only three.
The latter of her weekend appearances was a five-inning, one-hit, complete-game shutout against the Owls Sunday afternoon, marking the first appearance of her collegiate career of five or more innings pitched and one or fewer hits allowed.
The weekend added on to her recent run of brilliance in the circle, as Willis has posted a team-low 0.73 ERA (28.2 IP, 3 ER) with a .162 opponent batting average and 31 strikeouts against just 11 walks in her last eight appearances (four starts) since Feb. 23. The right-hander overall sports a 2.64 ERA (45 IP, 17 ER) this season that represents the best mark of her three-year career.
