STILLWATER, Okla. – The No. 23 UCF softball team received a strong start from freshman right-hander Ava Stuewe, but the squad could not solve Cowgirls ace Ruby Meylan as 12th-ranked Oklahoma State took game two of the teams’ three-game set, 2-1, at Cowgirl Stadium Saturday afternoon.
The defeat represented UCF’s first in its last 11 games dating back to the Knights’ 6-5 loss to Penn State Feb. 20, snapping a 10-game win streak and dropping the Black and Gold to 21-5 through 26 games.
Stuewe, tabbed for her 11th appearance and seventh start of the season by head coach Cindy Ball-Malone, tightroped around traffic on the basepaths throughout the afternoon en route to spinning a new career high 6.2 innings while yielding just two runs, one earned, with five strikeouts.
She went toe-to-toe with the veteran Meylan throughout the first four frames, matching each scoreless inning tossed by the Cowgirls’ right-hander with one of her own. Oklahoma State mustered just one hit through its first four offensive innings, highlighted by a perfect 1-2-3 fourth frame that saw Stuewe notch two strikeouts.
The Cowgirls finally broke through in the home half of the fifth inning, taking advantage of a pair of singles and a walk to score the game’s first run on a fielder’s choice and a UCF error. Stuewe was unfazed, though, retiring the final two Oklahoma State hitters to limit the damage to a single tally.
Sophomore catcher Beth Damon got the score right back for her squad in the top of the sixth, blasting her season high-tying eighth home run of the year into the left field deck area to tie the game at one run apiece with two outs in the frame.
The home run highlighted a strong overall day for the Edmond, Oklahoma native, factoring into her first three-hit game of the season and fifth such showing of her career. The long ball also marked the third of her career in her home state, joining her two-homer effort against St. Thomas at the Oklahoma Sooners’ Love’s Field April 4, 2025.
Stuewe returned to work in the circle in the home half of the sixth, stranding a leadoff walk with two more strikeouts, but the Cowgirls later managed to push across the game-winner in the home half of the seventh with three more walks and a single.
Despite the setback, Stuewe lowered her season from 2.10 to 1.89 in limiting the No. 12 team in the nation to just two runs, one earned, on four hits to clinch her fifth straight appearance with one or fewer earned runs allowed.
UP NEXT
UCF looks to bounce back in the rubber match between the two squads Sunday afternoon. First pitch is set for 12 p.m. ET 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.