ORLANDO – A pair of Knights freshman arms held the squad in a hard-fought pitchers’ duel throughout the contest, but a big seventh inning authored by the Cowgirls sent the UCF softball team to a 7-0 series-opening defeat to No. 21 Oklahoma State Thursday evening.
Isabella Vega and Yessenia Lopez, two of the most-utilized pitchers on head coach Cindy Ball-Malone’s staff this spring, both turned in strong appearances in the opener between the two teams, as the game entered the top of the seventh inning scoreless on both sides.
Vega was tabbed for her 13th start in her 21st appearance overall, and over three scoreless innings yielded just two hits while stranding five Cowgirl runners on base.
The Bradenton native, in the midst of her debut collegiate season as a redshirt freshman, also made her eighth appearance and fourth start against a ranked opponent this year, and in throwing three spotless innings lowered her ERA against ranked foes to a glistening 1.69 in a team-leading 29 innings.
She has yielded just eight runs, seven of them earned, against programs ranked in the top 25 in that span, issuing only 10 walks against 23 strikeouts while allowing a .248 batting average-against.
Ball-Malone opted for Lopez to begin the fourth, who worked around a pair of walks to strand two more in the frame.
The right-hander would strike out two more Oklahoma State hitters in a perfect fifth frame and added her fourth punchout in a 1-2-3 sixth inning.
The Cowgirls put their leadoff hitter on to start the seventh, though, and rode the momentum to a seven-run frame headlined by a three-run home run down the left field line by Audrey Schneidmiller.
Offensively, the Knights were limited to just a trio of baserunners and a season-low one hit, a two-out bunt single by Sierra Humphreys in the bottom of the sixth.
UP NEXT
The Knights look to bounce back and even the series Friday evening. First pitch is set for 7:02 p.m. from the UCF Softball Complex, and the game will be broadcast on ESPNU.
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