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ORLANDO – After it most recently wrapped up a perfect 4-0 road trip to extend its overall win streak to five straight games, the (RV) UCF softball team will look to continue riding its momentum in its return home for a midweek matchup against the FIU Panthers Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m., during which the program will celebrate its 2023 Autism Awareness Day.
On the heels of its series loss to the then-No. 22 Wichita State Shockers March 24-26, the Knights (24-18, 4-2 AAC) righted the ship with five consecutive victories against the North Florida Ospreys, ECU Pirates and FGCU Eagles over the last week and a half of play.
UCF has outscored its opposition by an aggregate 31-6 during the win streak, including a pair of shutout wins that have factored into their total of nine on the season, good for a share of first in the American Athletic Conference with the Shockers and 31st in the nation overall.
Veteran first baseman and newly-minted Order of Pegasus honoree Shannon Doherty has paced the Knights at the plate throughout the team's last five games, hitting an eye-popping .636/.722/1.091 (7-for-11) with an OPS of 1.813, three extra-base hits, four runs scored, five RBI, 12 total bases, five walks and one stolen base.
In the finale of UCF's four-game trip, Doherty clubbed her fifth homer of the season and the 25th of her collegiate career, becoming the fourth Knight in program history to reach the milestone after Stephanie Best (71), Jania Shinhoster (33) and current teammate Jada Cody (31). The long ball also marked her 114th career RBI, moving her to within four of tying Hillary Barrow's 118 in seventh place on the UCF all-time list.
Infielders Aubrey Evans, Micaela Macario and Jasmine Williams join Doherty with averages north of .400 during the win streak, boasting marks of .467, .462 and .400, respectively. The trio have also combined for two extra-base hits, eight RBI and 22 total bases in that span.
In the circle, junior right-hander and reigning AAC Pitcher of the Week Grace Jewell took on the majority of the workload from an innings standpoint during the team's last five games, tossing a team-leading 23.2 frames. The Chesapeake, Virginia, native yielded only two runs in that span, good for a sparkling 0.59 ERA, accompanied by 14 strikeouts and a .120 batting average-against.
Jewell added to her breakout junior season with another strong start Wednesday against the Eagles, throwing 5.2 innings of one-run ball with a pair of strikeouts. Through her first 23 appearances (15 starts) this season, Jewell has posted a team-best 2.20 ERA (92.1 IP, 29 ER) with a season-high 54 strikeouts, a mark that falls just behind Sarah Willis' 68 and Kaitlyn Felton's 66.
The Knights on Tuesday will meet an FIU squad off to an 18-20 start through 38 games, including a 5-9 mark within C-USA play. The team will wrap up a three-game road series against Florida Atlantic Saturday afternoon before making the trip to Orlando for the fourth game on its current five-game trip.
In 14 total meetings between the two schools, UCF holds a 9-5 edge including a four-game win streak. The Knights produced a comfortable 11-0 five-inning run-rule victory over the Panthers in the teams' lone meeting Feb. 23 last season, headlined by a Grace Jewell pinch-hit grand slam and an Emmerson Lee three-run homer, the first home runs of both players' respective collegiate careers.
UCF will meet a Panthers offense that stands near middle of Conference USA rankings entering FIU's Saturday matchup, coming in at fourth in average (.279), eighth in on-base percentage (.351), eighth in slugging percentage (.356) and ninth in runs per game (3.84).
The Panthers offensively are led by pitcher Ella Whitney and catcher Isabella Perez, both in the midst of their freshman seasons. In 33 games, Whitney has posted a .364/.400/.485 line, while Perez has recorded a .344/.404/.427 line. The pair have combined for 73 total bases, 32 RBI and 14 extra-base hits thus far, with Perez's 20 RBI representing the most of any Panther.
Fellow freshman Megan Kruger has served as the most consistent arm on FIU's pitching staff to this point, producing a team-best 1.94 ERA (54 IP, 15 ER) with 26 strikeouts and a .190 batting average-against.
Junior left-hander Sydney Birling has shouldered most of the workload for her squad, tossing a team-leading 75 innings with a team-high 31 strikeouts to accompany her 3.83 ERA (41 ER).
