ORLANDO – Drawing the Saturday start less than 24 hours removed from Sarah Willis' historic perfect game Friday evening, fellow right-hander Grace Jewell took advantage of the opportunity her teammate presented to her.
"It definitely motivated me, because I wanted to have my team's back too," Jewell said. "I studied Sarah's game the night before because she threw amazing. I was like, 'Okay, I just have to stay ahead, use my defense and just get my team back in the dugout, because they're going to get some runs."
Indeed they did. The UCF softball team produced at least seven runs for the second straight game to complement a strong seven-inning complete-game effort by Jewell, as the Knights clinched the series win over the visiting Houston Cougars, as well as their sixth straight win overall, with their 8-2 victory at the UCF softball complex Saturday afternoon.
The victory marked the second straight game that UCF's (32-19, 11-3 AAC) starter went the distance after Willis' Friday perfecto, as well as Jewell's sixth complete game of the season, tying Willis' own mark of six for the team-lead.
The right-hander's effort also marked the 13th game in the Knights' last 14 overall since March 29 that saw UCF limit its opposition to two or fewer runs, a stretch during which the quartet of Jewell, Willis, Angelina DeVoe and Kaitlyn Felton have combined to post a 1.27 ERA (93.2 IP, 17 ER) with 61 strikeouts and a .164 batting average-against to lead their squad to a 13-1 record in that span.
"I'm definitely feeling confident. It's more about having my team's back and putting my team on my back," Jewell continued. "Just doing whatever my team needs from me. I definitely feel really good out there."
UCF once again turned to its winning formula that has paid dividends for the team many times throughout the season, scoring early and often to take the pressure off its starter. After the Cougars (19-26, 6-8 AAC) tagged Jewell for a run in the top of the first, the Knights quickly struck back in the form of a three-run double to right field by junior transfer Chloe Evans in the home half.
The three runs in the first inning Saturday, coupled with the Knights' one first-inning tally Friday evening, boosted the team's run output in the initial frame of games this season to an even 50, its highest-scoring of any inning thus far. By comparison, the 2023 Knights have nearly caught the 2022 squad's first-inning run total of 55, still with four regular-season games and the conference tournament on the horizon.
Evans' double also padded her already-team-leading RBI total, pushing her season sum to 41 with her 13th two-bagger of the season, one shy of tying Aubrey Evans for the team-lead in doubles.
"They came in and were ready to hit the ball, they came in and scored a run," Chloe said. "With the bases loaded, I just knew that I needed to do whatever I could to score as many runs as I could, just putting the ball in play. Hitting the ball to the right side was going to score the most runs, and that's what I tried to do."
The double extended her career-long hit streak to 11 games as well, the longest by a Knight this season. The right fielder is hitting a team-best .472/.512/.778 (17-for-36) during the streak, accompanied by seven extra-base hits, 15 RBI and 28 total bases.
After an Aubrey Evans sacrifice fly pushed UCF's lead to three runs in the second frame, first baseman Shannon Doherty slugged her team-best ninth home run of the season, and 29th of her career, off the left field foul pole, ballooning the Knights' advantage to 5-1 in the third inning.
With the 29th long ball of her career, Doherty pulled to within two of tying teammate Jada Cody (31) for third place on the UCF all-time home run list, and within one of becoming the fourth Knight in program history to achieve the 30-home run mark.
"I just missed it the at-bat before, so it was an adjustment I had to make," Doherty recalled. "I was just looking for her to throw that pitch again, that's my pitch. Just trying to make the adjustments and see the ball well."
A pair of Houston errors made UCF's final three runs possible in the fifth inning, tallies that, once again, proved helpful but unnecessary for the Knights' starting pitcher.
After yielding the early tally, Jewell surrendered just one run on four hits through Houston's final six innings, including retiring nine of 10 hitters she faced between the second and fourth innings.
In throwing a career-high-tying seven innings for the fourth time this season, Jewell lowered her career-best ERA to 2.33 (111.1 IP, 37 ER) through 27 appearances (18 starts), building her season strikeout total to 66 while stifling her opposition to the tune of a .182 batting average-against.
"It's hard to follow what Sarah did yesterday, but I think she did a great job keeping herself calm and just trying to play her game and doing what she was supposed to do. I think she did a phenomenal job out there today. She was rolling us ground balls, she was helping us make plays and that's exactly what she needs to do."
UP NEXT
The Knights will go for the three-game sweep of Houston in their final home game of the season Sunday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m. from the UCF Softball Complex. UCF will also honor its 2023 senior class in a postgame Senior Day ceremony.
