OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – As her personal awards resume continues to grow, Knights redshirt freshman right-hander Isabella Vega has retained hold of the eyes of the nation.
After the announcement was made that she was included on the NFCA’s National Division I Freshman of the Year top 25 watch list April 25, becoming the first player in program history to receive such recognition, Vega has made the cut for the organization’s top 10 finalists, the NFCA made official Thursday.
The Bradenton native, after concluding her regular season the owner of one Wilson/NFCA National Pitcher of the Week award, two D1Softball National Freshman of the Week awards, and two Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week awards, followed her strong run through her first regular season with a stifling effort in UCF’s Wednesday Big 12 Conference tournament opener.
Facing off against the 10th-seeded Utah Utes in the tournament’s first round just hours after also being named to the All-Big 12 First Team and All-Big 12 Freshman Team, Vega brought a no-hitter into the sixth inning, at one point retiring 13 consecutive hitters in leading UCF to a 7-5 walk-off win.
The right-hander yielded just one unearned run on four hits spanning 6.2 innings pitched in her postseason debut, seeing her overall season ERA dip even further to 1.16 through a team-leading 115.0 innings pitched spanning 27 appearances and 16 starts.
She needs just one more strikeout to eclipse 100 on the season and has allowed a batting average-against of just .179 entering the Knights’ Thursday second-round matchup with second-seeded No. 10 Arizona.
UP NEXT
The seventh-seeded Knights advance to the Big 12 tournament’s second round following their 7-5 walk-off win over Utah, and will square off once again against the second-seeded No. 10 Arizona Wildcats. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. ET from Devon Park Thursday evening and will be streamed on ESPN+.
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