Softball Bests Baylor, 7-2, in Sunday Series FinaleSoftball Bests Baylor, 7-2, in Sunday Series Finale

Softball Bests Baylor, 7-2, in Sunday Series Finale

by Ryan Ladika
Box Score

WACO, Texas – As she rounded the bases under a clear sky at Getterman Stadium Sunday, sophomore utility player Samantha Rey’s smile said it all.

“Just joy,” she said of her feeling in the moment. “Seeing my teammates waiting for me at home plate was super fun. I was just thinking, ‘Wow, that’s really cool.’”

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Rey’s first career home run, a two-run shot in the top of the fourth inning, accompanied a host of other firsts in helping lead the UCF softball team to its 7-2 win in the series finale over the Baylor Bears Sunday afternoon.

Behind a three-homer, 15-hit attack, the Knights improved to 22-16-1 on the season, earning their fourth Big 12 Conference win of the year, and the program’s first win over the Bears in Waco, Texas.

In addition to Rey’s long ball, the Knights also saw redshirt freshman Isabella Vega lock down the first save of her NCAA career and redshirt sophomore Macy Miles clinch the first win of her collegiate career in relief of starter Yessenia Lopez.

“We did a really good job with having each other’s backs today, and everyone contributed to the win. It was a good feeling to come through with a win today and end the series on a high note.”

Isabella Vegaredshirt freshman RHP

With four innings of scoreless, one-hit ball Sunday, Vega punctuated one of the strongest weeks of her young career in the circle. She totaled a team-high 17 innings with two complete games and one four-inning save, highlighted by her seven-inning shutout against the No. 3 Florida Gators Wednesday, yielding just one run on 10 hits with 18 strikeouts, limiting her opposition to a .167 batting average-against.

“I’m proud of myself,” she added. “I was able to come out and do my job, and then come in when needed. To lock down the win today, that was really important for the team.”

UCF received the fast offensive start it was looking for Sunday courtesy of third baseman Sierra Humphreys, who sent the fourth pitch of game over the right-center field wall for her third home run of the season and sixth of her career to give her squad an immediate 1-0 lead.

“We had seen that pitcher in both of the first two games. I knew if I made that quick adjustment, the whole team was going to follow behind me. It gives us a lot of momentum.”

Sierra Humphreyssophomore third baseman

The Black and Gold quickly added on, scoring their second run of the first frame on a Beth Damon RBI single that cashed in on Rey’s base hit that followed Humphreys’ long ball.

Baylor then drew up a quick counterpunch, plating a pair of their own in the home half to tie the game at two runs apiece.

Miles, called upon in relief midway through the bottom of the first, stranded a two-out walk in spinning a bounce-back scoreless second inning to set the stage for her offense to retake the game’s momentum in the third.

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Junior Aubrey Evans wasted no time, hitting her team’s second homer of the game on the first pitch of her at-bat to lead off the third inning, giving the Knights a 3-2 advantage.

UCF once again held Baylor scoreless in the home half of the third, when junior transfer right-hander Lena Elkins was called upon to relieve Miles and stranded a leadoff single with a strikeout and a 4-6-3 double play.

The Black and Gold later pushed their lead to 5-2 on Rey’s fourth-inning home run, part of a three-hit game for the Salinas, California native. Rey was joined by Humphreys and Damon in collecting three hits in the winning effort.

“We were just looking to get after it today, just being a dog. Getting some momentum back was really important, I have so much trust in our pitchers and we just have to have their back every day, because we know they’re going to get it done.”

Samantha Reysophomore utility player

UCF’s final two scores came in the top of the sixth frame, on a Damon RBI single past the Baylor shortstop and a perfectly-executed squeeze bunt by Ashleigh Griffin that plated Evans from third base.

The support was more than enough for Vega, who represented head coach Cindy Ball-Malone’s third call to the bullpen in the fourth inning. She stranded the bases loaded in completing her first scoreless inning of the afternoon, and in the fifth left a leadoff walk on base with a pair of strikeouts around a flyout to Rey in left field.

Vega authored a perfect sixth frame, one that featured her fifth strikeout, and proceeded to earn two more whiffs in a clean seventh, clinching the winning effort for her squad.

UP NEXT

UCF faces another challenge away from home next weekend, as the squad will take the second trip in program history to Norman, Oklahoma, to square off against the No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners in two games in a three-game round robin that also features a game against St. Thomas.

First pitch against the Sooners is set for 8 p.m. ET from Love’s Field Friday, April 4, and will be streamed on ESPN+.

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