CLEARWATER, Fla. – Closing the tournament in much of the same way it opened play in Clearwater Friday morning, the UCF softball team concluded a strong first road trip of the 2026 season, besting the NC State Wolfpack, 6-2, at the Eddie C. Moore Complex Sunday afternoon.
The effort, UCF’s ninth win in its first 12 games this spring, pushed the squad’s overall record to 9-3, representing the program’s best start to a season since the 2021 Knights started 10-2 through 12 contests.
The Black and Gold also concluded play in Clearwater with a 3-2 record in their five weekend matchups, representing the first time in program history UCF emerged with a winning record during play in the Clearwater Invitational. The Knights, joined by Oklahoma State (3-2) and Texas Tech (5-1), ensured the Big 12 would be the only conference with all participating teams earning a winning record in Clearwater over the weekend.
UCF, for the seventh time this season, found the scoreboard first, landing the first punch on the strength of a Kendall Yarnell two-run homer that cut straight through the wind over the left field fence.
The long ball represented the third of the season for Yarnell, and UCF’s 15th home run of the year overall, good for third most among Big 12 Conference teams behind only Houston (22) and Texas Tech (17).
The Black and Gold have also homered in nine of their 12 games thus far, and their 15 home runs through 12 contests represent their most at this point since the 2023 Knights hit 16 long balls through 12 games.
Knights starter Isabella Vega, just over 24 hours removed from clinching UCF’s dominant 5-1 victory over No. 10 LSU Saturday afternoon, ran with the early offensive momentum in her sixth appearance and second start of the year.
She set the first six Wolfpack hitters down in order with a pair of strikeouts in the bottom of the second inning, and stranded a pair in the bottom of the third while adding her third punchout of the day.
Two pop outs featured a perfect home half of the fourth for the Knights’ right-hander just before her squad added a bit of insurance in the top of the fifth. Center fielder Samantha Rey laid down a perfect bunt to lead off the frame and advanced all the way to third base on a pair of NC State errors, and came around to score UCF’s third run on a Coco Jaimes run-scoring single in the infield.
The Black and Gold would add three more tallies in the final two offensive frames, on Jaimes’ second run-scoring hit of the day, Izzy Mertes’ seventh-inning sacrifice fly, and another NC State error.
The cushion was more than enough for Vega, who, despite yielding a pair of late-inning unearned scores to the Wolfpack, finished off her first seven-inning complete game of the season and her sixth career outing that saw her spin at least seven frames.
Vega overtook freshman southpaw Hildie Dempsey for the team lead in innings pitched with 19.1 following Sunday’s outing and boasts a 1.45 ERA and four winning decisions through her first six appearances, including a .189 batting average-against and a team-best 20 strikeouts.
Jaimes, meanwhile, notched her third multi-hit game of the season, as well as her second in her last two games, and her fourth career multi-RBI showing. The sophomore infielder also boosted her season line to .400/.514/.433 (12-for-30) in the winning effort.
UP NEXT
The Knights will enjoy three days off from competition before embarking on their third weekend of action, hosting the SpaceU Classic at the UCF Softball Complex beginning Thursday, Feb. 19. UCF will play host for Penn State, Notre Dame, Ohio and Charleston Southern throughout the weekend, and will return to play Thursday evening with a 6 p.m. first pitch against Ohio.
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.