ORLANDO – On the heels of a stretch that featured three consecutive weekends away from home, the UCF softball team returns to the friendly confines of its home park to kick off the final homestand of the 2025 spring campaign.
The Knights (25-18-1, 6-9 Big 12), after taking two of three against the BYU Cougars in Provo, Utah, will welcome the No. 21 Oklahoma State Cowgirls to Orlando April 17-19, with the Black and Gold looking for their second ranked conference series win this season.
The team enters play Thursday slotted as the No. 29 team in the nation in the NCAA’s Tuesday RPI release, a key metric utilized in NCAA Tournament selection at the end of the season. The Knights already boast four wins over RPI top 25 teams (Florida (2), Arizona (13) and Clemson (17)), and could further bolster their resume with wins over a Cowgirls team that is currently slotted at 18th in the country in the rankings.
UCF went an even .500 on its recent eight-game road swing that also included action in Waco, Texas against Baylor, and in Norman, Oklahoma against St. Thomas and No. 2 Oklahoma, with the Knights averaging 3.88 runs per game throughout the trip.
Against the Cougars in Provo last weekend, UCF scored 14 runs en route to clinching the key late-season series win, totaling seven extra-base hits and a .300/.424/.486 (21-for-70) aggregate line.
The squad earned a series-opening 9-1 run-rule victory in five innings Thursday evening, on the strength of a 10-hit offensive attack and a three-hit complete game authored by redshirt freshman Isabella Vega in the circle.
Redshirt senior Stormy Kotzelnick and redshirt junior Ashleigh Griffin led the charge offensively, combining for five hits and seven RBI in the Knights’ fifth run-rule win this year and second over a power four opponent.
Kotzelnick matched single-game career-bests in both total hits (3) and RBI (4) in the contest, while Vega twirled her sixth complete game of the season and lowered her season ERA to 1.42 in her 12th start and 20th appearance of the year.
Senior Kaitlyn Felton led UCF to its series-clinching 4-3 win Friday evening, allowing just the three runs with four strikeouts in seven innings, her eighth complete game of the season and eighth occasion this year throwing seven innings in an appearance.
In the effort, Felton also became the ninth pitcher in program history to eclipse 300 career innings pitched, joining Alea White (969.1), Mackenzie Audas (823), Allison Kime (798.1), Shelby Turnier (742.1), Ashleigh Cole (702.2), Lindsay Enders (484), Dottie Cupp (432.1), and Gianna Mancha (398).
Entering the weekend series against the Cowgirls, Felton ranks among Big 12 Conference leaders in saves (4, T-1st), ERA (1.31, 3rd), complete games (8, 4th), shutouts (3, T-4th), WHIP (1.02, 5th), fewest walks allowed per seven innings (1.39, 6th), wins (10, 6th), fewest hits allowed per seven innings (5.72, 7th) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.00, 8th).
Vega, meanwhile, also ranks among league leaders entering the weekend in shutouts (4, T-1st), fewest hits allowed per seven innings (4.77, 3rd), WHIP (0.94, 3rd), ERA (1.42, 4th), complete games (6, 6th), strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.64, 6th), and total strikeouts (80, T-6th).
Griffin and freshman Beth Damon hit home runs in the series as well, with Damon’s home run marking her team-leading seventh of the season. She has now hit the third-most home runs in a single season by a freshman in program history, trailing only Jania Shinhoster (12) and Stephanie Best (11) in 2002.
The 21st-ranked Cowgirls make the trip to Orlando having posted a 25-14 record through their first 39 games this season, including a 6-7 mark in Big 12 play. The team thus far has earned ranked wins over then-No. 8 Florida State Feb. 6, then-No. 23 Kentucky Feb. 14, then-No. 5 Texas A&M Feb. 15, then-No. 12 Alabama Feb. 16, then-No. 16 Nebraska Feb. 28, then-No. 15 Texas Tech March 9 and then-No. 10 Arizona April 4.
First pitch is set for 6 p.m. from the UCF Softball Complex Thursday evening and will be streamed on ESPN+. Friday’s game will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU, beginning at 7 p.m., and Saturday’s finale will be carried on ESPN+ beginning at 12 p.m.
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