ORLANDO – As the UCF softball team’s fourth homestand of the spring draws to a close, the squad will receive another opportunity against a top five nationally-ranked opponent.
The Black and Gold are set to square off against No. 3 Florida for the second time in the last two weeks, and two programs will meet in a regular-season matchup in Orlando for the first time since 2022. The Knights will also host their third annual Autism Awareness and Acceptance Game Wednesday evening.
UCF was edged by Florida in the teams’ most recent meeting in Gainesville March 12 by a 3-0 final score, a contest that saw freshman right-handed pitcher Yessenia Lopez produce a strong showing against one of the nation’s top offensive corps.
Lopez, in her 10th start of the spring, spun her third complete game of the year, limiting the Gators to just three runs on four hits with four strikeouts. Florida’s offense had entered the evening representing the nation’s leader in total hits, home runs, RBI, slugging percentage and total runs scored.
The freshman recorded yet another dominant outing in her most recent appearance as well, holding the Iowa State Cyclones to just a single run on two hits with no walks and five strikeouts in her second collegiate seven-inning complete game Saturday, March 22.
Her display punctuated a strong overall weekend by the Knights’ pitching staff against Iowa State, as redshirt freshman Isabella Vega began the weekend with an 8.2-inning display with just two runs allowed that scored after her departure from the contest in the top of the ninth inning Thursday.
Senior right-hander Kaitlyn Felton followed suit Friday with her seventh seven-inning complete game of the season, surrendering three scores in UCF’s 3-2 loss. In striking out six, Felton also became the 10th pitcher in program history to eclipse the 200 career strikeout mark, as well as the second in as many seasons to do so after Sarah Willis recorded her 200th UCF strikeout against the Houston Cougars April 14, 2024.
The trio combined to post a 1.83 ERA in 23 innings against the Cyclones over the weekend, allowing a batting average-against of just .167 with two complete games. With the team’s stingy weekend in the circle, the squad’s collective ERA dropped to 2.56, marking the program’s lowest ERA through the first 35 games of a season since the 2019 Knights posted a 1.74 ERA through their first 35 games.
Offensively, sophomore Sierra Humphreys leads the team into its Wednesday tilt with Florida, bringing a 22-game on-base streak into the contest. The Corona, California, native is hitting .431/.507/.615 (28-for-65) in her last 22 games dating back to UCF’s 6-4, eight-inning win over Clemson in Clearwater Feb. 15, having hit safely in 18 of the 22 games during her streak.
She has also recorded 10 multi-hit games in that span, accompanied by 17 runs scored, two doubles, two triples, two home runs, nine RBI, 10 walks and 40 total bases.
With her 22-game on-base streak, Humphreys is now just 11 games away from tying UCF Hall of Famer Stephanie Best’s program record 33-game on-base streak from March 9 through May 13, 2004.
Freshman utility player Izzy Mertes is chasing a program record of her own as well, as her team-leading doubles total of 12 is just six shy of matching teammate Aubrey Evans’ single-season doubles record of 18, set during her freshman 2023 season.
The third-ranked Gators, meanwhile, bring a 30-4 record into Wednesday's matchup, including a 3-3 mark through six games in SEC play.
Since UCF’s trip to Gainesville March 12, Florida took one of its three games against No. 2 Texas March 15-17, besting the Longhorns in the series finale by a 3-1 final score behind seven innings of two-hit ball authored by Katelynn Oxley and Ava Brown.
The Gators have since taken a pair of games against in-state foes Jacksonville and North Florida March 19-20, outscoring the two programs by a combined 13-2, including an 8-0 run-rule victory over the Ospreys.
When the Black and Gold meets Florida Wednesday, it will be in search of its first win over Florida since April 14, 2021, a 7-1 victory over the Gators in Gainesville, and its first home win over Florida since March 14, 2021, when the Knights toppled the Gators, 8-6, in Orlando.
First pitch is set for 6 p.m. from the UCF Softball Complex and will be streamed on ESPN+.
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