Waco, Texas – The UCF Softball team enjoyed stingy displays in the circle by four different arms, but the team’s recent offensive struggles persisted throughout the squad’s Sunday doubleheader, as the Knights suffered back-to-back 1-0 defeats to the Baylor Bears at Getterman Stadium.
The tandem of Kaitlyn Felton, Katelyn Cochran and Angelina DeVoe combined to yield just a single tally to the Bears in the twin-bill opener, rescheduled to Sunday morning as a result of inclement weather throughout the morning and early afternoon Saturday.
Cochran, who entered in relief for the Knights in the second inning of the doubleheader’s opener, spearheaded the efforts in the circle for the Knights, spinning a team-high 3.1 scoreless innings.
The contest marked her fourth appearance this season with at least three spotless innings of work, and her first such outing since she earned her first collegiate win against the North Florida Ospreys April 2 with a five-inning, one-hit, complete game shutout.
In scattering just three hits throughout her 3.1 frames, Cochran also dropped her season ERA to a sterling 0.59 (2 ER) in 23.2 innings pitched this spring, accompanied by 17 strikeouts against just five walks.
Senior southpaw Angelina DeVoe was next out of the bullpen with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, collecting the final four outs of the game to notch her seventh appearance of the campaign consisting of at least one scoreless inning.
In her second start of the series, senior right-hander Sarah Willis once again dazzled in the circle in the teams’ finale. The Ontario, California, native twirled a six-inning complete game for the second time in three days, yielding only one run on four hits with five strikeouts.
The start represented Willis’ third with at least six innings in her last four appearances, and her fourth in her last six. The right-hander has also allowed two runs or fewer in each of her last eight outings dating back to her seventh-inning save at Texas Tech March 29, posting a 1.42 ERA in 39.1 innings pitched accompanied by 29 strikeouts in that span.
UP NEXT
The Knights look to bounce back in their scheduled midweek doubleheader against the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, first resuming the teams’ suspended game from March 3 before partaking in a newly-created contest to complete the doubleheader.
Following the midweek twin-bill, the Black and Gold will welcome the No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners to Orlando for UCF’s final three regular-season home games and penultimate Big 12 Conference series.
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