Softball Sweeps Sunday Twin Bill Against James Madison, IllinoisSoftball Sweeps Sunday Twin Bill Against James Madison, Illinois

Softball Sweeps Sunday Twin Bill Against James Madison, Illinois

UCF earns first '25 comeback win against Dukes, 3-2; Felton twirls seven-inning shutout in Knights' 4-0 win over Fighting Illini

by Ryan Ladika
  • Game 1
  • Game 2
Box Score

ORLANDO – With her team leading UCF 2-0 with two outs in the top of the fourth inning, James Madison catcher Lily Romero hit a fly ball down the right field line.

Three Knights converged on the anticipated path of the sinking pop fly as it angled into foul territory halfway down the line, and just as it finally came down, sophomore Samantha Rey, making the start at second base Sunday morning, left her feet and pulled off an eye-popping diving grab.

“Our pitchers were throwing great, so as a defender, I was thinking, ‘I need to make a play, I need to get out of this inning. We needed to get something going, and I wanted to have my pitcher’s back. We work on defense all the time, I love it. Defense wins championships.”

Samantha ReyInfielder/Outfielder

Rey’s standout effort, tabbed the No. 6 play on ESPN SportsCenter's Sunday top 10, put something of a jolt into her squad, which up to that point had mustered just an infield single by the second baseman an inning before she made her highlight-reel catch.

The Knights’ comeback gained legs an inning later, as the team scored three runs in the final two innings to down the Dukes, 3-2, and later blanked the Illinois Fighting Illini, 4-0, to improve to 5-1 through six contests.

“Our team got better and we’re playing a little bit more loose,” said head coach Cindy Ball-Malone. “We still need to get comfortable, but I like how we’re starting to feed off each other. Our youngsters are making more mid-at-bat adjustments, and our pitching staff looked really strong this weekend.”

In keeping with the weekend’s trend, the Knights’ pitching staff spearheaded the group’s efforts in clinching its two Sunday wins, as the trio of Yessenia Lopez, Katelyn Cochran and Kaitlyn Felton combined for 14 innings of two-run ball, fanning nine and yielding a batting average-against of just .167 (8-for-48).

Lopez was tabbed for her third start of the weekend by Ball-Malone in Sunday’s opener against James Madison and battled through five frames while surrendering just the two scores.

The New York, New York, native was tagged for a run in both of the first two innings, but limited the damage with a strikeout to end the first frame and a bunt groundout to conclude the second.

She came back with her third punchout to commence a scoreless top of the third inning, and later stranded a leadoff single in the fourth thanks to two groundouts that proceeded Rey’s diving catch.

“We started to not get so caught up in the strategy, and lean more into trying to be our best and take our best swings. From the pitching standpoint, I asked them to lead the team. We have many leaders on the team, but the pitchers have to be the face of the program. I thought they did a really good job with that this weekend.”

Cindy Ball-Malonehead coach

After Lopez wrapped up her strong start with a 1-2-3 fifth inning, fellow freshman Izzy Mertes ignited her squad’s rally with leadoff double to right-center field in the home half. Redshirt freshman Taylor Kittleman advanced her teammate to third base, and yet another member of UCF’s freshman class, Coco Jaimes, produced a key pinch-hit RBI single to halve the Dukes’ lead.

Jaimes then picked her moment, stole second base, and came around to tie the affairs on a Rey RBI double. The Knights finally gained the lead they needed an inning later, when Mertes came through with her second double of the game to plate redshirt senior Stormy Kotzelnick and clinch the first game-winning RBI of her career.

Cochran emerged from the bullpen in relief and secured her first win of the season on the strength of two spotless innings, clinching the Black and Gold’s first come-from-behind win of the season.

“We just wanted to get back and stay in the game. We continued to fight and have good at-bats, and we trust each other knowing that if one of us didn’t do it, that someone else would come through.”

Izzy Mertesinfielder
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Felton commanded the affairs throughout UCF’s second go-around with the Fighting Illini Sunday afternoon, twirling a dominant seven-inning complete-game shutout to propel her squad to its fifth win of the weekend.

The effort represented the senior’s first seven-inning shutout of the spring and the second of her career, joining her one-hit masterpiece against FAU April 17, 2024. She spun at least seven innings in an appearance for the sixth time in her three-plus-year UCF tenure as well.

“It was amazing. She’s such a dog and I love seeing her out there. She has that senior mindset with it being her last year. It was awesome,” Mertes said of Felton.

The right-hander induced a trio of groundouts to kick off UCF’s final game of the weekend, and struck out the side in the top of the second before her team provided the support she needed with a four-run home half.

In a matter of minutes, an RBI single by Rey, a double-steal of second base and home plate by Rey and fifth year senior Madison Simon, and two more run-scoring knocks by sophomore Sierra Humphreys and redshirt senior Stormy Kotzelnick cracked open a 4-0 Knights advantage.

Though UCF was held scoreless the remainder of the afternoon, the support was more than enough for Felton, who retired 15 of the final 18 hitters she faced, including each of her last seven Fighting Illini hitters.

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Her showing represented UCF’s second seven-inning complete game in as many days after junior transfer Lena Elkins tossed seven innings of one-run ball against Illinois Saturday night. She also posted her team’s second shutout win of the young campaign, joining the Black and Gold’s season-opening 10-0 run-rule victory over CSU Bakersfield Thursday evening.

“This was, by far, the most fun I’ve had calling a game of hers,” Ball-Malone said. “It was an art out there today. She wasn’t stuck on one pitch, and she used all the quadrants again. We mixed some spots with different pitches that we haven’t done before, and she trusted and believed in it. I just love that about her, she gave those hitters a different look in each at-bat they took against her.”

UP NEXT

On the heels of a 5-1 showing in their season-opening Black & Gold Classic, the Knights will be challenged by a week-long stretch that features matchups against five programs ranked within the preseason top 25.

The team will conclude its season-opening eight-game homestand with back-to-back midweek matchups against No. 15 Missouri 6 p.m. Tuesday evening and No. 20 Liberty 5 p.m. Wednesday night. Both contests will be streamed on ESPN+.

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