No. 21 Softball Earns Second Straight Run-Rule Win over Utah, 9-1, to Clinch Series

ORLANDO – Maintain, build, and continue.

The three key components of the No. 21 UCF softball team’s pregame plan were once again on full display Friday as the squad clinched its third Big 12 Conference series win of the season.

“We had our meeting earlier today, discussing what we were going to do,” said redshirt sophomore Isabella Vega. “We said we were going to maintain it, build on it, and keep winning.”

Led once again by Vega in the circle, the Black and Gold maintained their recent momentum, built upon their Thursday series-opening win, and, once again, produced a victorious effort on the field.

The Knights utilized a trio of three-run frames to bolster the redshirt sophomore right-hander’s latest dominant effort, downing the Utah Utes 9-1 in five innings to clinch their 30th win of the season, eighth Big 12 Conference win of the spring and sixth consecutive win overall. With a 30-10 overall record through 40 games, the 2026 Knights represent the fastest UCF squad to hit 30 wins since the 2022 Knights also went 30-10 through 40 contests.

The Knights, in clinching the series win over Utah, recorded its second consecutive run-rule win, fourth in their last five games, and 13th of the season, and have now plated 75 runs in their last five games.

The Black and Gold also clinched a regular-season conference series over the Utes for the first time in program history, leaving only Baylor and Arizona State as the remaining two current Big 12 programs against which UCF has yet to win a regular-season series.

Vega, in the midst of an incredible run in the circle, handled all five innings for her squad Friday, allowing just one run on five hits to earn her career high-tying 14th winning decision of the spring.

The effort represented the sixth consecutive game for UCF that saw Vega collect the winning decision, representing the first time a Knights pitcher has earned the winning decision in six consecutive team games since Alea White did so March 24-April 5, 2019.

Vega has thrown at least 2.1 innings in each of UCF’s last seven games dating back to the Knights’ series finale against then-No. 3 Texas Tech March 22, having produced an aggregate 1.54 ERA (6 ER) in 27.1 innings of work in that span, spinning two complete games and striking out 15 while limiting her opposition to a .179 batting average-against.

UCF’s three three-run frames to begin the evening extended the program’s streak of scoring at least three runs in an offensive half inning to eight straight such innings dating back to the squad’s 11-run seventh stanza in its series finale at Houston.

Junior second baseman Sierra Humphreys provided the key immediate answer to Utah’s lone tally of the game in the top of the first, slugging her 10th home run of the season out to left center field to give her team a quick 3-1 advantage.

The long ball not only secured Humphreys’ first career double-digit homer campaign, but also ensured UCF four players with double digit home runs in a single season for the first time in program history.

Her latest home run extended her personal streak to three straight games with a long ball, representing her second such stretch this season, and the Corona, California, native has now hit five home runs in her last three games.

For the first time in program history, four different Knights have hit at least 10 homers in a single season!@SHumphreys2023 https://t.co/wnO0VQbtaE pic.twitter.com/LhIjD77W9Q

— UCF Softball (@UCF_Softball) April 3, 2026

A Utes error and back-to-back hits by Humphreys and first baseman Ashleigh Griffin helped UCF push three more tallies across in the home half of the second, and left fielder Izzy Mertes ballooned the Knights’ advantage to 9-1 in the third with a two-out bases-clearing double to the left-center field gap that plated Coco Jaimes, Aubrey Evans and Ayala Durant.

Humphreys accrued her third consecutive four-plus-RBI game in the winning effort Friday, and has now driven in 17 runs in her last five games dating back to UCF’s series-opener at Houston.

Mertes extended her RBI streak as well, notching at least one for the fourth straight game and clinching her seventh game this season with at least three.

Following the team’s latest offensive explosion, UCF became the second Big 12 school to eclipse 100 runs scored in Big 12 Conference play this season, trailing only Texas Tech’s 142 runs, and the Knights’ 50 extra-base hits through their first 14 conference games trail only the Red Raiders’ 51 for the league lead.

UP NEXT
UCF looks to earn its second straight Big 12 Conference series sweep with a victory in Saturday’s game three against Utah. First pitch is set for 12 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.