No. 22 Softball to Face FGCU, Houston in Season's Eighth Week

ORLANDO – After concluding play in its third weekend of Big 12 Conference action, the No. 22 UCF softball team is readying to conclude its four-game homestand with a midweek matchup against FGCU before its three-game road series against the Houston Cougars over the weekend.

The Knights most recently wrapped up a 1-3 showing over their last week of play, having bested the FIU Panthers on the road, 3-1, March 18 before falling in a trio of hard-fought contests against the then-No. 3 Texas Tech Red Raiders.

Despite the Raiders’ series sweep, the Black and Gold still enter their eighth week of play 14 games north of .500 at 24-10 overall, ahead of the 2025 Knights’ 20-13-1 start through 34 games, and off to the program’s best start through 34 games since the 2022 squad began the season 27-7.

Sophomore catcher Beth Damon and juniors Sierra Humphreys and Samantha Rey represented the team’s offensive leaders throughout its last four games, as the trio combined to produce a .438 average (14-for-32) accompanied by three doubles, one triple, one home run, three RBI and 22 total bases.

Damon enjoyed an especially strong series against the Red Raiders, slashing a combined .556/.556/1.000 (5-for-9) with one double, one home run, two RBI and nine total bases. She was responsible for two of UCF’s three RBI against two-time reigning National Pitcher of the Year NiJaree Canady Friday evening, including a sixth-inning long ball that cut Texas Tech’s lead to 4-3.

Her latest homer represented her 10th of the season, clinching the Edmond, Oklahoma native’s first career double-digit home run season, as well as the 18th of her career, moving her into sole possession of eighth place on the program’s all-time home runs list. The homer also marked the sixth of her career against a ranked opponent, five of which have come against teams ranked within the top 12 at the time.

Damon also enters UCF’s fourth weekend of Big 12 Conference action as the team’s leading hitter through her team’s first nine league contests, slashing .429/.414/.786 (12-for-28) with three runs scored, one double, three home runs, seven RBI, and 22 total bases against Big 12 opponents thus far.

Redshirt sophomore Isabella Vega and freshman Ava Stuewe paced their squad in the circle, meanwhile, accounting for 22.2 of the team’s 27 innings over the last week of action. Vega produced a team-low 2.10 ERA in her 10 innings and spun her fifth seven-inning complete game of the season Friday night against Texas Tech. The effort also marked her fourth career seven-inning complete game against a ranked opponent.

Stuewe led the Knights to their midweek victory over FIU March 18, earning her fifth winning decision of the season with 6.1 innings of one-run ball with four strikeouts. The first-year right-hander totaled a team-high 12.2 innings of work throughout UCF’s last four games overall, recording a team-best .133 batting average-against.

UCF enters its latest midweek contest looking to build upon a 14-1 all-time record against FGCU, as the Knights have won each of the teams’ last seven meetings dating back to the 2021 campaign. The Black and Gold won both matchups against the Eagles in 2025, earning respective 2-1 and 4-2 victories Feb. 21 and 23.

The Knights also boast a perfect 3-0 record against in-state opponents this spring, having previously bested FAU, 9-5, and Florida A&M, 21-2, before their 3-1 win over the Panthers last Wednesday. A win over the Eagles this week would not only boost the Knights to a perfect 4-0 record against Florida-based schools this season, but also lift UCF to 55-22 against in-state opponents in the Cindy Ball-Malone era.

The Knights’ weekend series against Houston, meanwhile, represents the latest meeting between the longtime American Athletic Conference mates, with UCF owning a 37-23 edge over the Cougars all-time and a 16-3 lead in the teams’ last 19 matchups dating back to April 27, 2019.

UCF claimed its fifth consecutive series win over Houston to conclude its home schedule last season, taking two of three while outscoring the Cougars 18-14 throughout the weekend.

First baseman Ashleigh Griffin went 5-for-9 over the three games, highlighted by a run-rule clinching three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning of the series finale April 27. Vega tossed a team-high 7.2 innings in the circle throughout the weekend, holding Houston scoreless while yielding just three hits and striking out six in her two appearances.

First pitch for Wednesday’s matchup against FGCU is set for 5 p.m. from the UCF Softball Complex and will be streamed live on ESPN+.

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.