UCF broke through with its equalizer in the home half of the third when Kotzelnick singled home Humphreys, who led off the frame with her second single of the evening. The redshirt senior, in driving in both UCF runs, recorded her third multi-RBI game of the year, joining her two runs batted in against NC State Feb. 7 and No. 15 Missouri Feb. 11.
After the Eagles put their leadoff batter on in the fourth, Ball-Malone opted for Lopez, who worked around the baserunner with her first strikeout of the evening and Strott’s pinpoint throw to erase the runner attempting to steal second.
Lopez whiffed two more in a perfect fifth, and in the sixth fanned one more while dancing around a one-out single.
FGCU punched back in the top of the seventh, putting two more runners on base via an infield single and a walk, and Ball-Malone again called to her bullpen, bringing in her veteran senior who just the night before tossed her first career no-hitter.
Kaitlyn Felton entered amid a flurry of defensive changes and got the one she was tasked with facing, inducing an inning-ending flyout to Taylor Kittleman in center field just moments before UCF’s late game-winning rally.
Upon the game’s conclusion, Lopez and Vega combined for 6.2 innings of work, yielding just one run on four hits with eight strikeouts, three from Vega and five from Lopez. The latter enters Saturday’s action as her team’s leader in punchouts, having totaled 36 through her first nine NCAA appearances.
“She’s gathering a lot of information, and it’s been fun to call her games because she’s been able to throw different pitches at different times,” Ball-Malone continued. “It’s been nice to see her do that as we go, and learn with the hitters. We do match up our pitchers to certain teams, but the really good pitchers are able to face any type of hitter. She’s becoming that.”
