No. 15 Softball Returns for Big 12 Home-Opener Against BaylorNo. 15 Softball Returns for Big 12 Home-Opener Against Baylor

No. 15 Softball Returns for Big 12 Home-Opener Against Baylor

by Ryan Ladika

ORLANDO – Following its statement Stillwater series win to kick off its 2026 Big 12 Conference slate, the No. 15 UCF softball team is set to return home for its league home-opening series against the Baylor Bears March 13-15.

The Knights most recently took two of three against the then-No. 12 Oklahoma State Cowgirls on the road March 6-8, earning their second ranked conference series win in the last two years and their first since winning the first two games of their series in Tucson against then-No. 4 Arizona March 7-9, 2025.

The effort clinched not only the first road win over Oklahoma State in program history, but also the Knights’ first overall series win over the Cowgirls one year after UCF earned its first win over Oklahoma State in the Cindy Ball-Malone era.

For their efforts, the Black and Gold, now 22-5 through their first 27 games with three top 12 ranked wins, have risen to as high as No. 15 in the nation among the four national week five top 25 polls. Softball America slotted UCF No. 15 in its latest rankings, and the Knights also landed at No. 17 in D1Softball’s latest poll and No. 22 in both the NFCA/GoRout coaches’ poll and ESPN/USA Softball poll.

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UCF’s No. 15 national ranking is also just shy of the all-time high-water mark for the program, behind the 2022 and 2015 Knights who were nationally ranked as high as No. 13.

A consistent offensive attack bolstered by dominant performances in the circle powered UCF to its series win in Stillwater, led once again by redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher Isabella Vega.

The Bradenton native tossed 11.2 innings without surrendering an earned run over the weekend, first spinning a seven-inning complete game in Friday’s series-opening 4-1 win before totaling 4.2 innings in Sunday’s finale.She garnered Sports Illustrated National Softball Pitcher of the Week honors for her efforts, earning a pair of winning decisions while striking out nine and limiting her opposition to a .167 batting average-against.

Freshman right-hander Ava Stuewe also impressed in the middle contest of the teams’ weekend series, making her third collegiate appearance against a ranked opponent. She nearly went the distance, throwing a career high 6.2 innings with just two runs, one earned, allowed on four hits with five strikeouts.

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Offensively, the likes of Beth Damon, Samantha Rey, Izzy Mertes and Coco Jaimes led the team, each totaling a team-high five hits in the series, with Damon and Mertes combining for the squad’s three home runs over the weekend.

Mertes’ first-inning three-run shot powered her squad to its 4-1 Friday victory, while Damon homered off Cowgirls ace Ruby Meylan in back-to-back games Saturday and Sunday, representing her third instance of back-to-back games with a home run this season.

Of UCF’s 29 home runs entering play this weekend, Damon’s nine represents a new single season career high, followed by Mertes’ seven, Kendall Yarnell’s six, Sierra Humphreys’ four and Aubrey Evans’ three.

Rey, meanwhile, paced her squad in average (.625) and on-base percentage (.667) over the weekend, going 5-for-8 with one run scored, one double, one triple, two RBI and eight total bases.

She notably hit her second career triple in the seventh inning of Friday’s opener off Meylan, driving in a late insurance tally for her squad, and Sunday drove in UCF’s fourth run of the day with an RBI single through the right side in the top of the sixth inning.

After amassing 32 hits over the three games in Stillwater overall, UCF enters its second weekend of conference action third in the Big 12 in total hits, as its 226 trail only Texas Tech’s 270 and Kansas’ 239.

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The Black and Gold also rank among Big 12 Conference leaders in walks drawn (117, 1st), double plays turned (17, 2nd), fewest hits allowed per seven innings (5.40, 2nd), stolen bases (37, T-3rd), team ERA (1.94, 3rd), batting average (.343, 4th), doubles (49, 4th), on-base percentage (.452, 4th), and team WHIP (1.36, 4th).

UCF this weekend will meet a Baylor squad on a strong run of its own recently, boasting an 18-6 record through its first 24 games and a 3-0 start to Big 12 Conference play following its series sweep of Iowa State in Waco over the weekend.

After starting 12-6 through 18 contests, the Bears enter the weekend series winners of each of their last six games, including a Wednesday night 9-1 run-rule victory over the Stetson Hatters in DeLand.

The Bears outscored Iowa State by an aggregate 17-7 throughout the teams’ series last weekend, and including the team’s 4-0 win over Stephen F. Austin March 3, were led offensively by Brooklyn Carter and Karynton Dawson over the last week, as the duo hit .615 (8-for-13, 1 2B, 3 RBI) and .357 (5-for-14, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBI) in that span.

Baylor has most utilized its trio of Sadie Ross, Cambree Creager and Peyton Tanner in the circle, meanwhile, led by Creager’s 2.85 ERA in her team-best 54 innings of work. The sophomore garnered D1Softball National Pitcher of the Week recognition for her efforts in the team’s 4-0 week, going 3-0 herself with a 0.49 ERA in 14.1 innings with 17 strikeouts.

First pitch is set for 6 p.m. for the teams’ Friday series-opener, and will be streamed live on ESPN+. Saturday’s tilt is set for a 4 p.m. start time, and Sunday’s finale is slated for a 12 p.m. first pitch.

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.