TAMPA, Fla. – In its final American Athletic Conference game, the (RV) UCF softball team held true to its goal of making one final lasting impression.
After battling through their dramatic come-from-behind 7-4 win against the No. 7 Memphis Tigers in Thursday's AAC Tournament quarterfinal and their narrow 2-0 victory over the third-seeded South Florida Bulls Friday, the Knights cruised to a 9-1 run-rule victory over the No. 4 Tulsa Golden Hurricane in five innings at USF Softball Stadium Saturday afternoon, claiming the third AAC Tournament championship in program history, as well as the second straight, and clinching their regional spot in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
The contest also marked the second consecutive season the Knights clinched the AAC title game via run-rule, after UCF blanked the Bulls 11-0 in five innings in Greenville, North Carolina, a year ago.
"It means everything. Coming into the season, we had a tough schedule. I think the beginning of the season definitely didn't define us," said junior utility player Jada Cody. "We went through a lot of losses during the beginning, but I think it just made us stronger. Even when our backs were against the wall, we have each other and can look left and right and know that the inner circle is protecting us."
After beginning their season 18-16 through 34 games following the conclusion of the OSU Mizuno Classic in Stillwater, Oklahoma, the Knights (39-19) tore through the second half of their 2023 slate, going 21-3 in their final 24 games, including collecting wins in 20 of their final 21 contests. The squad now enters regional play riding the high of its season-long 13-game win streak.
"That was our last American conference game, and it was our goal to go out on top, and that's exactly what we did," first baseman Shannon Doherty added. "We won that back-to-back championship. We wanted to leave the American conference better than we found it. Like Jada said, the beginning of the season didn't go exactly how we wanted it to, how everyone expected it to, but that's okay. We stayed the course and we achieved one of our goals, so that's awesome."
UCF climbed the mountain in The American one last time on the back of, once again, right-handed starter Sarah Willis. The junior transfer, fresh off working 12 innings of one-run ball between the Knights' first two games in the tournament, including a complete-game shutout of the Bulls Friday afternoon, again received the nod from head coach Cindy Ball-Malone to lead her team to a title.
The incredible workload didn't faze Willis, who began her afternoon with a strikeout and spun a perfect first inning. She worked around a single and a two-out walk in the second with her second punchout, and bolstered by a 4-0 lead in the third, limited the damage to one when Tulsa managed to crack the scoreboard.
"Just going out there and throwing the best pitches that I can," Willis said of her start. "Working with Carson [Frier] and then letting the defense do their thing with the ground balls and popups. Obviously, being a part of the offense is really cool, third time I got to do that in the tournament. And just watching the offense succeed, that's giving me opportunities to go out there and throw fewer innings, fewer pitches to keep my body ready for postseason."
After yielding a leadoff single in the fourth, Willis came back with three consecutive strikeouts to escape the frame and tallied one more punchout in a perfect fifth, an inning that would prove her last thanks to the Knights' relentless offensive attack. After a third straight dominant performance, Willis was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after totaling 17 innings while allowing only two unearned runs on nine hits and seven walks, accruing 11 strikeouts and limiting her opposition to a .167 batting average-against.
UCF's nine-run output delivered the team's second run-rule victory in it last four games dating back to the Knights' 10-0 win over Memphis in the regular season finale, as well as its 11th run-rule win of the season. A Chloe Evans groundout in the bottom of the first inning, coupled with heads-up baserunning by Cody, broke the ice for the Knights in the bottom of the first, and a timely two-out triple down the right field line by Kennedy Searcy in the second tacked on two more to balloon UCF's advantage to 3-0.
Cody returned to the plate moments later and came through with a single up the middle to plate Searcy, recording the 200th hit of her collegiate career in the process and becoming the 11th Knight in program history to reach the milestone.
After being held scoreless in the third, UCF piled on with five more runs across the game's final two innings, via a wild pitch that allowed freshman pinch-runner Nehanda Lewis to score the Knights' fifth run, Jasmine Williams' second two-run homer in three games, and a pair of run scoring hits by freshman DP/utility infielder Aubrey Evans.
For Aubrey, the first of her two run-producing hits marked her 16th double of the season, becoming the fifth Knight in program history to reach the mark set most recently by Cassady Brewer in 2019, and the freshman can break the record with her next two-bagger.
The freshman, named to The American's All-Conference Second Team and All-Rookie Team just days prior, also recorded her second collegiate three-hit game in the winning effort, and her first since her historic three-double performance against Kennesaw State March 11.
"We're ready to play anyone," added Ball-Malone. "We've been doing it all year, and this team is very prepared."
UP NEXT
The Knights await learning their NCAA Regional opponents and destination during Sunday evening's selection show, which is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET. on ESPN2.
