ORLANDO – The UCF softball team enjoyed a strong outing from sophomore right-hander Katelyn Cochran in relief and pushed for a late seventh-inning rally, but the squad fell in its series-opener to the No. 2 Texas Longhorns, 5-0, at the UCF Softball Complex Friday night.
The Friday night matchup represented just the second meeting between the Knights (14-12, 2-5 Big 12) and Longhorns (26-3, 6-1 Big 12) in program history, and the first time UCF hosted a top two nationally-ranked foe since the Black and Gold bested then-No. 2 Arizona by a 2-0 final score March 8, 2021.
Texas jumped out to an early lead with a pair of tallies in the top of the first inning, and later added on three more in the top of the fourth frame before Cochran calmed the storm out of the bullpen.
Making just her third appearance of the season and her second at home, Cochran matched her season-high with two scoreless frames, including a pair of strikeouts in the sixth inning.
The relief outing marked the longest without a run allowed in her one-plus-year collegiate career, and the sophomore lowered her season ERA to 1.62 through three appearances, having allowed just one run on two hits with five strikeouts in 4.1 innings of work.
“She’s sneaky. I’ve faced her in practice, she’s hard to hit,” fifth year utility player Jada Cody said of Cochran. “Just having that confidence in the circle, and you can definitely see she’s grown a lot from last year to this year with her ball spin. She definitely held us in the game.”
The Knights mounted a comeback bid in the bottom of the seventh inning, loading the bases with a pair of singles and a walk, but the Black and Gold couldn’t find the key hit to narrow the Longhorns’ five-run lead.
UP NEXT
The Knights look to even the series against the second-ranked Longhorns in game two Saturday afternoon. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. from the UCF Softball Complex, and will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
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