ORLANDO – On the heels of the Knights’ three-game road series at No. 4 Oklahoma State, the UCF softball team returns home for a date with another top five nationally-ranked opponent in the No. 2 Texas Longhorns March 22-24.
The Knights (14-11, 2-4 Big 12) most recently dropped their three games to the Cowgirls during their first Big 12 Conference road series in Stillwater, Oklahoma, over the weekend, including a pair of narrow 2-0 and 6-4 defeats Friday and Sunday.
In spite of its trio of losses, UCF enjoyed a handful of strong individual performances on both sides of the ball, headlined by the exploits of designated player Stormy Kotzelnick, shortstop Jasmine Williams and RHP/DP Sona Halajian.
As part of a 3-for-9 (.333) showing throughout the weekend, Kotzelnick drilled her second home run of the season in the Knights’ late-inning rally Saturday afternoon, a two-run shot that, at the time, halved UCF’s four-run deficit to two.
The Carmel, Indiana, native’s .400 on-base percentage tied center fielder Johneisha Rowe’s for the team’s highest mark throughout the series among players who started all three games, and Kotzelnick’s three hits paced the squad.
In her last five games, including her sixth-inning heroics in leading the Black and Gold to their 3-2 eight-inning win over Kansas March 9, Kotzelnick boasts a .357/.438/.571 (5-for-14) line with three runs scored, four RBI, one home run and eight total bases.
Williams also took a significant step forward as she continues to heal from a hand injury that limited her to pinch-running duties from Feb. 8-24, slugging her first home run of the season in the Knights’ Saturday tilt.
The shortstop’s two-run home run represented UCF’s second two-run shot of the fifth inning and tied the game at four runs apiece following Kotzelnick’s long ball, and marked her first homer of the spring as well.
In the last two seasons alone, Williams has now hit key game-tying home runs in the fifth inning or later against two different top five-ranked opponents. During the 2023 Judi Garman Classic, Williams came through with a sixth-inning solo shot that tied the game at one against the then-No. 2 UCLA Bruins March 3.
Halajian, meanwhile, starred at the plate and in the circle in UCF’s series finale Sunday afternoon, tossing four innings of one-run ball with just two hits allowed in relief while also slugging her first Knights home run, a three-run blast in the sixth inning that trimmed Oklahoma State’s lead to 5-4.
When it welcomes the Longhorns (24-3, 5-1 Big 12) to Orlando this weekend, UCF will host a top five nationally-ranked foe for the first time since facing off against then-No. 5 Virginia Tech during a three-game set at the UCF Softball Complex April 3-4. The last time the Knights hosted a top two nationally-ranked opponent was March 8, 2021, when the Black and Gold shut out then-No. 2 Arizona by a 2-0 final score.
The Knights prevailed in the teams’ lone previous matchup by a 15-10 final score, coming during the 2022 Clearwater Invitational Feb. 19.
The then-No. 9 Longhorns committed seven errors in the contest, and UCF exploded for seven runs in the top of the sixth inning en route to its five-run win. First baseman Shannon Doherty and utility player Jada Cody produced a combined seven hits and two doubles in the winning effort, and southpaw Angelina DeVoe threw 3.2 innings of one-run ball out of the bullpen, allowing only two hits.
Fresh off a three-game sweep of the BYU Cougars March 14-15, Texas is slated to play a midweek contest against No. 17 Florida State in Tallahassee Wednesday before making the trip south to Orlando.
The Longhorns averaged 10 runs per game in their three wins over BYU, including a pair of 13-0 and 10-0 five-inning run-rule victories, representing a microcosm of the team’s potent offensive capabilities displayed throughout the season.
Texas comes to Orlando as the owner of the highest team batting average in the nation (.401), and also ranks within the nation’s top six in on-base percentage (.478, 3rd), slugging percentage (.672, 3rd), runs per game (8.85, 4th) and doubles (51, 6th). The team also boasts the fifth-lowest ERA in the nation (1.38) and owns 11 shutout victories, fifth in the country and second only to No. 1 Oklahoma’s 15.
Among players who have started each of Texas’ 27 games, catcher/first baseman Reese Atwood leads the squad with a .439 average, accompanied by a .480 on-base percentage and an .890 slugging percentage.
The sophomore ranks within the top 10 in the Big 12 in average, doubles (7), total hits (36), home runs (10), slugging percentage and total bases (73). She also leads the nation in RBI (46), a mark she shares with Miami (OH)’s Jenna Golembiewski.
In the circle, freshman right-hander Teagan Kavan has tossed a team-leading 56.2 innings, posting a 1.85 ERA that ranks 11th in the conference accompanied by 61 strikeouts, good for a share of third-most in the Big 12.
The series is set to commence Friday, March 22, with a first pitch time of 6 p.m. from the UCF Softball Complex. Game two is set for a 2 p.m. first pitch Saturday, with the series finale slated for 12 p.m. Sunday. All three games will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
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