Softball Blanks No. 22 Florida Atlantic on the Road, 3-0

BOCA RATON, Fla. – It started with a 10-0 run-rule victory at home Feb. 16, 2020.

The Knights then swept a three-game series on the road by an aggregate 12 runs to zero March 13-14, 2021.

It was a closely-contested 1-0 decision in the teams’ most recent matchup in Orlando April 17, 2024.

Arguably the most crucial of the recent series, though, came Wednesday night in Boca Raton. The UCF softball team recorded its sixth consecutive shutout victory over No. 22 Florida Atlantic, toppling the Owls by a 3-0 final score at FAU Softball Stadium to earn its seventh straight win over its in-state rivals overall.

The effort not only represented UCF’s 13th win of the 2025 campaign, but also its second top 25-ranked win, joining the largest ranked comeback victory in program history over the then-No. 15 Missouri Tigers, 6-5 in eight innings, Feb. 11.

UCF’s latest win marked its first shutout of a ranked opponent since then-junior right-hander Grace Jewell’s six-inning no-hitter against then-No. 22 Arizona State at the 2023 OSU Mizuno Classic hosted by Oklahoma State March 17, 2023, and its first shutout of a ranked team in a true road game since the Black and Gold blanked then-No. 4 Florida in Gainesville, 7-0, April 14, 2021.

UCF also handed the Owls just their third defeat in their first 18 games this spring, downing a squad that previously earned power four wins over then-No. 25 Clemson, Ole Miss, Kansas and Minnesota.

The Knights did it on the strength of a fast offensive start and a dominant performance in the circle, utilizing a trio of pitchers to notch their fifth shutout victory of the 2025 campaign.

The Black and Gold’s leader in strikeouts entering the contest, freshman right-hander Yessenia Lopez, was tabbed for the start by head coach Cindy Ball-Malone, and induced a pair of flyouts and a groundout to strand a pair of first-inning Owl baserunners.

UCF took a lead it wouldn’t relinquish moments later, when freshman catcher Beth Damon strode to the plate with two outs in the top of the second.

BETH LAUNCHES HER FIRST CAREER HOME RUN! ☄️ pic.twitter.com/HML99ZzTFp

— UCF Softball (@UCF_Softball) February 26, 2025

She swatted the first pitch she saw over the left field wall, giving her team an early 1-0 advantage with the first home run of her collegiate career.

“It was honestly surreal. I kind of blacked out, it was pretty awesome,” Damon said of hitting her first NCAA long ball.

UCF would add on in the top of the third, cashing in on a leadoff walk by shortstop Aubrey Evans. Third baseman Sierra Humphreys executed a sacrifice bunt to advance her teammate, and right fielder Stormy Kotzelnick rapped a single back up the middle to drive Evans home and double the Knights’ advantage.

Freshman designated player Izzy Mertes later came through with UCF’s second run-scoring hit of the frame, lining a one-out double to the right-center field gap that brought Kotzelnick all the way home from first base and pushed the Knights’ lead to 3-0.

The offensive support proved enough for the Black and Gold’s pitching staff, as Lopez stranded a two-out double in the bottom of the second before giving way to redshirt freshman Isabella Vega to begin the third.

Facing her fourth ranked opponent of the season, Vega saw the Knights safely through the bottom of the third, with aid from her center fielder. After Florida Atlantic produced back-to-back singles to lead off the frame, a fielder’s choice groundout put runners on the corners with just one out.

“They just trusted each other. If their stuff was hit, they didn’t worry,” Mertes said of her staff. “They just stayed in that play, recover, play mindset and kept getting after it. If someone was pulled, they trusted the girl behind them to have their back.”

Vega then induced a fly ball to fifth year senior Madison Simon in center field, who made the catch and alertly placed a strong and accurate throw back to first base to double off an Owl runner and keep Florida Atlantic off the scoreboard.

The redshirt freshman navigated a perfect fourth with her first strikeout of the evening, and after earning the first out of the fifth, Ball-Malone opted for experience to close out the contest.

Senior right-hander Kaitlyn Felton was next, who entered the contest ranking among Big 12 Conference leaders in a myriad of categories, including solo shutouts (2, 1st), wins (6, T-1st) and ERA (0.79, 3rd).

Felton worked around a defensive error to see UCF safely through the fifth, and stranded a pair of singles in the bottom of the sixth.

The Owls mounted one last comeback bid in the final frame, putting two more runners on base with two outs, but Felton was unfazed, calmly forcing a groundout to Ashleigh Griffin at first base to conclude the affairs.

“It’s awesome,” Mertes said of the Knights’ second ranked win. “It’s what we’ve worked for throughout the fall, and it’s cool to see that hard work pay off. This is what we talk about all the time. We know we’re good enough to compete with these teams, and now we’re showing everyone else.”

UP NEXT

UCF will look to bring its momentum back home, as the team begins the third and final home tournament of its non-conference slate, the Charge On Classic. The Knights will host George Mason, Georgia Southern, North Florida and Providence Feb. 28-March 2.

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