ORLANDO – The UCF softball team earned a split of its first day of the 2026 Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational Friday afternoon, besting the Northwestern Wildcats, 6-4, before falling in game two to the No. 17 Georgia Bulldogs, 13-5.
Despite the Knights’ defeat at the hands of the Bulldogs, UCF boasts a 7-2 start to the 2026 spring campaign entering day two of the Clearwater Invitational, representing the program’s best start since its 7-2 start in 2021.
UCF began play in Clearwater Friday with a hot start against the Wildcats, scoring four times in the home half of the first inning to take an early 4-0 advantage.
Aubrey Evans and Izzy Mertes slugged back-to-back one-out doubles to break the ice, and junior third baseman Sierra Humphreys later continued her torrid start to the spring slate with a three-run home run to right-center field.
The effort marked Humphreys’ third consecutive game with a home run, tying her 2025 season best with her fourth overall, and ensured that the second baseman would hit safely and drive in at least one run in each of the Knights’ first eight games of the season. Following the conclusion of play Friday, Humphreys boasted a .565/.607/1.304 line with eight extra-base hits, 30 total bases, 14 RBI and 11 runs scored.
The Black and Gold then drew up a response to a second-inning Wildcats score with two more runs in their half of the frame, courtesy of an Ashleigh Griffin run-scoring single and a sacrifice fly by Humphreys, giving the Corona, California, native a season high four RBI and her first four-RBI game since her debut 2024 season.
UCF’s pitching staff made the fast offensive start stand, withstanding three more Wildcat runs over the next two innings to clinch its two-run victory. Freshman left-hander Hildie Dempsey, making her first collegiate start and her sixth appearance of the year overall, yielded just one earned run over three innings before giving way for redshirt sophomore Isabella Vega, who fanned six over the remaining four frames.
The Knights again enjoyed a fast offensive start against the Bulldogs to begin a back-and-forth affair in game two of their Friday twin bill.
UCF pushed across a pair in the home half of the first inning on a Coco Jaimes bases-loaded walk and a Beth Damon hit-by-pitch, again with the bases loaded, before tallying three more in the second on a Kendall Yarnell RBI double and a two-run home run by senior shortstop Aubrey Evans.
Evans’ long ball, her second of the spring, gave the Knights at least one home run in four consecutive games and pushed the team’s total to 13 through nine contests, its most through the first nine games of a season since 2023.
Georgia struck back with an eight-run fourth inning, though, breaking the game open to hand UCF its second defeat of the spring.
UP NEXT
UCF faces two more tough tests on day two in Clearwater, facing off against No. 10 LSU and No. 8 Nebraska Saturday afternoon. First pitch against the Tigers is set for 10 a.m. and will be streamed live on the SEC Network.
ABOUT UCF ATHLETICS
UCF is a proud member of the Big 12 Conference. Our mission is to positively transform the lives of our students academically, athletically, and personally through a nationally competitive intercollegiate athletics program that enhances the reputation and visibility of the University. We strive to be Florida's preeminent athletic program, representing UCF and our community with distinction on the national stage as "Orlando's Hometown Team". To learn more about UCF and Athletics, please visit our websites at www.ucf.edu and www.ucfknights.com.