ORLANDO – The No. 20 UCF softball team generated late-inning offense once again, but couldn’t overcome a four-run third inning authored by the visiting No. 24 Kansas Jayhawks in its 4-2 loss to Kansas at the UCF Softball Complex Sunday afternoon.
The defeat represented only the Knights’ second in their last 14 games dating back to March 25, as UCF still owns an 11-2-1 mark in that span accompanied by a 35-12-1 overall record through 48 games.
The Black and Gold Sunday saw a strong effort produced by four different pitchers, holding the Jayhawks scoreless in six of their seven offensive half innings.
Redshirt sophomore Isabella Vega, making her second start of the weekend after she tossed all eight innings of UCF’s game one 6-3 walk-off win Friday evening, spun a pair of scoreless frames before Kansas capitalized on a pair of UCF errors in the third inning to plate all four runs.
Vega’s relief corps picked her up throughout the remainder of the contest, though, led by freshman southpaw Reagan Vokoun’s career high 3.1 scoreless innings.
Vokoun did not yield a hit in her latest appearance, issuing just four walks to lower her season ERA to 2.04 through 24 innings of work this spring.
Graduating seniors Katelyn Cochran and Lena Elkins, part of a seven-member senior class that was recognized in a postgame ceremony that also included Kayla Alexandre, Aubrey Evans, Carley Jo Penner, Ashleigh Griffin and Macy Miles, combined to tackle the game’s final four outs in the circle.
The Knights’ offense, meanwhile, was largely held in check by Jayhawks starter Lila Partridge, unable to find the scoreboard until the bottom of the sixth inning.
Junior center fielder Samantha Rey cashed in on a pair of singles by Sierra Humphreys and Coco Jaimes with an infield single of her own to dash Kansas’ shutout bid, and an RBI groundout by Beth Damon brought home a leadoff Izzy Mertes double in the home half of the second, but the key game-tying hit eluded the Black and Gold to conclude the program’s final home Big 12 Conference series of the season.
Sophomore utility Kendall Yarnell enjoyed another strong performance at the plate despite the loss as well, extending her hit streak to four consecutive games with her 12th multi-hit showing of the spring.
In UCF’s four contests over the last week, Yarnell slashed 455/.625/1.091 (5-for-11), with five runs scored, one double, two home runs, 7 RBI, 12 total bases, 5 walks, and a 1.716 OPS in leading her squad to a 3-1 record. She also homered in back-to-back conference games for the second time this season, and her eight home runs in Big 12 games are tied for fourth-most in the league.
UP NEXT
UCF looks to bounce back from its Sunday defeat in its penultimate regular-season home contest, when the squad will host the North Florida Ospreys. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday evening 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.