ORLANDO, Fla. – Taking the field for the first time this season in its Canaveral blue Citronauts uniforms, the (RV) UCF Knights softball team and its offensive corps certainly complemented the day's "SpaceU" theme well throughout its Saturday doubleheader.
The Knights exploded for 20 runs in two games against the Toledo Rockets and Kennesaw State Owls, taking both games by 9-1 and 11-5 final scores, respectively, in the two-game finale of the second day of the UCF Round Robin tournament at the UCF Softball Complex.
"The bats came alive, so that's always a good thing," said head coach Cindy Ball-Malone. "It started to become contagious. We had production from multiple people in the lineup throughout the doubleheader. I liked some of our strong pitching performances, and we had some very good defensive moments. We're starting to play Knights softball again, which is awesome."
On the heels of a five-game losing streak and defeats in six of their last seven games, the Knights (13-13, 0-0 AAC) moved back to .500 on the season with their third straight win and improved to 10-4 on their home turf at the UCF Softball Complex.
UCF flexed its power potential throughout the afternoon and into the late hours of the evening, clubbing 10 extra-base hits between the two contests, highlighted by a three-double nightcap from breakout freshman infielder Aubrey Evans, a three-run homer and a triple in the day's opener by junior transfer outfielder Chloe Evans, and a first-inning leadoff home run in both games by redshirt-senior shortstop Jasmine Williams.
Williams, who entered the day with two home runs in her first 24 games this season, doubled her season output in one day while going a combined 4-for-6 with the two long balls and a pair of walks.
"I was just looking for a pitch I could drive. Coach 'Bear' has been talking about just staying within myself and staying relaxed at the plate," Williams said. "I saw a pitch I liked, and I just took my hack on it. The ball was just flying off my bat today, it felt good. I needed that for my team and for myself."
With the Knights already ahead 1-0 thanks to Williams' first homer against Toledo, Chloe Evans strode to the plate with Aubrey Evans and Jada Cody on base in the bottom of the third inning. She deposited an 0-2 pitch over the left field wall, marking her fourth homer of the season and her second extra-base hit of the game after tripling in the bottom of the first.
The Seymour, Wisconsin, native later added an RBI single in the sixth inning, tying career-highs with three hits and four RBI, and collecting her second three-hit game in her last four contests.
First baseman Shannon Doherty found her stride at the plate as well during the opener against Toledo, going 1-for-2 with three RBI including a two-run single and a game-ending walk with the bases loaded in the sixth inning. Following her productive game, Doherty saw her career RBI total pushed to 104, one shy of tying Kalyn Cenal's career total of 105 for ninth on the UCF all-time RBI list.
The Knights' offensive outburst was more than enough for starter Sarah Willis, who continued her dominant run in the circle with five innings of one-run ball, accompanied by a pair of strikeouts. Since her Feb. 23 start against the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs, Willis has represented the most effective arm on the Knights' staff, posting a 0.89 ERA (3 ER) in 23.2 innings while striking out 26 hitters and yielding a .180 batting average-against.
Aubrey Evans and Micaela Macario took center stage at the plate in UCF's nightcap against Kennesaw State, with Evans recording UCF's first three-double game since at least 2015, the first season on record covered by the NCAA.
Her third and final two-bagger came with the bases loaded in the fifth inning, when she drove a 3-2 pitch to right-center field to clear the bases and push her single-game RBI total to five. The total marks the most of any Knights player this season, and the highest single-game RBI total since Macario's six-RBI day against James Madison Feb. 26, 2022.
Macario, meanwhile, snapped a seven-game hitless streak in style, swatting a three-run triple into the right field corner in the bottom of the second inning as part of her third multi-hit game of the season. Her three RBI marked a season-high and her most since the James Madison game, as well.
"For every at-bat, Coach 'Bear' has been talking to us, settling our minds," Macario said. "I think that helped me see the ball deep like we've been talking about and driving it to the right side."
The team as a whole set season-highs in runs scored (11), hits (13, tied), RBI (10) and doubles (5) during the win over Kennesaw State after being limited to 12 runs in its previous seven games.
UP NEXT
The Knights will wrap up their final host tournament of the season Sunday morning and into the afternoon, as UCF will face North Dakota at 9 a.m. followed by the tournament finale against Kennesaw State once more at 1 p.m.