ORLANDO – The No. 25 UCF softball team split day two of its third weekend of play, earning a 9-1, six-inning run-rule victory over the Ohio Bobcats before a late comeback bid fell just short in the Knights’ 6-5 loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions Friday evening.
UCF, now 11-4 through its first 15 games this spring, is still off to its best 15-game start to a season since the 2021 Knights began the year 12-3, on the strength of a dominant offensive beginning that has seen the squad produce 45 extra-base hits and push across 106 total runs.
The team’s latest win, representing its sixth run-rule effort of the young season, saw the Knights find the scoreboard at least twice in each of the final four innings, plating three in the second inning and two in each of the third, fourth, fifth and sixth frames to end the game early.
Aubrey Evans and Beth Damon highlighted their squad’s three-run second, producing a run-scoring single and a two-run home run, respectively, to give the Black and Gold its first lead of the game.
Damon’s long ball marked her fifth of the year and her second straight game with a home run after she also left the yard in UCF’s Thursday tilt against Ohio, and extended her on-base streak to 11 straight games. It also represented the Knights’ 17th home run of the season, third most in the Big 12 Conference behind only Houston (22) and Texas Tech (20).
Freshman Reagan Vokoun and sophomore Coco Jaimes both forced in runs in the home half of the fourth, with Jaimes’ RBI single factoring in to her first three-hit game of the year and the third of her career.
RBI knocks by junior second baseman Sierra Humphreys and sophomore outfielder Zoe Calvez pushed their team’s lead to 7-1 following the bottom of the fifth inning, and a bases-loaded walk by Damon, followed by a sacrifice fly to center field off the bat of Ashleigh Griffin ended the contest early in the bottom of the sixth.
In the circle, the freshman tandem of Ava Stuewe and Reagan Vokoun combined to limit Ohio to just a single run on three hits, led by Steuwe’s career high-tying five innings of work. The right-hander also went five innings in her previous appearance against then-No. 8 Nebraska in Clearwater, and authored her third appearance of the year with at least four innings pitched.
The Nittany Lions jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning and continued to build upon their advantage throughout the evening, adding single scores in the fourth and sixth frames against redshirt sophomore Isabella Vega before a three-run seventh broke the game open.
UCF never stopped fighting, though, scoring five times in the home half of the seventh inning in a furious comeback attempt that fell just one run short. Ten Knights came to the plate in the frame, combining for five hits and two walks.
Humphreys broke up Penn State’s bid for a shutout with an RBI double down the right field line, scoring sophomore Kalista Birkenstock from first base, and with two outs, sophomore utility Kendall Yarnell singled Humphreys home to bring in UCF’s second run.
The knock represented Yarnell’s third of the evening, marking her first career three-hit game, and the Olathe, Kansas native enters play Saturday tied for second on the team with a .400 average (14-for-35) and an .829 slugging percentage that trails only Humphreys (.976) and Damon (.914).
Junior infielder/outfielder Samantha Rey followed with a run-scoring single up the middle, driving in pinch-runner Destiny Washington, before Damon also came through with a key two-out, two-run single to cut the deficit to 6-5.
The Knights’ furious two-out rally ended there, though, as Penn State gave UCF just its second home loss in its first 10 games in Orlando.
UP NEXT
UCF will look to bounce back in its Saturday evening tilt against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, with first pitch scheduled for 5 p.m. from the UCF Softball Complex.
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.