ORLANDO – Senior right fielder Chloe Evans produced a strong offensive showing at the plate, but the UCF softball team dropped its series-opener to the No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners, 10-2, at the UCF Softball Complex Friday evening.
The Knights settled in to the contest following an unsteady top of the first inning that saw Oklahoma send ten hitters to the plate and score five times on four hits and a pair of UCF errors.
The senior tandem of Angelina DeVoe and Sona Halajian, teamed up to calm the offensive storm beginning in the second inning, with DeVoe stranding the bases loaded to hold the Sooners scoreless in the frame.
After Oklahoma collected its sixth run in the third inning on the strength of a two-out solo home run, sophomore right-hander Kaitlyn Felton re-entered the contest and found her groove. She retired the side in order in the top of the fourth inning before spinning a spotless fifth, and she induced a ground ball double play right to second baseman Aubrey Evans to erase a leadoff walk and hang a third straight zero in the top of the sixth inning.
Riding the newfound momentum in the circle, UCF broke through at the plate beginning in the bottom of the fifth inning. Catcher Jada Cody singled to center field and took second base on a throwing error by center fielder Jayda Coleman ahead of Evans’ third at-bat of the night.
The Knights right fielder worked the count full and fought through eight pitches before ripping a run-scoring double past first baseman Ella Parker, plating Cody from second base.
Evans later clubbed her team-leading sixth home run of the season out to right-center field in the bottom of the seventh inning, pushing her team-best RBI total to 34 and recording her third multi-extra-base hit game of the season.
UP NEXT
The Knights look to even the series against the second-ranked Sooners in the team’s penultimate home game of the 2024 season 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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