No. 23 Softball Earns Extra-Inning Comeback Win over Jacksonville State, 2-1No. 23 Softball Earns Extra-Inning Comeback Win over Jacksonville State, 2-1

No. 23 Softball Earns Extra-Inning Comeback Win over Jacksonville State, 2-1

Knights begin NCAA Tournament play 1-0, will face Stetson on Saturday

by Ryan Ladika
Box Score

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – “It’s not over until it’s over.”

Down to their last out, the Knights found a way.

“We talk a lot about how, as long as we still have outs on the board, we’re going to continue to fight,” third baseman Coco Jaimes continued. “It comes down to wanting to win a ballgame, wanting the bat in your hands, and continuing to do your job.”

Led by a handful of timely offensive contributions from its sophomore class and a dominant staff effort in the circle, the UCF softball team rallied for an extra-inning, come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Jacksonville State to kick off their NCAA Tournament stay at JoAnne Graf Field Friday afternoon.

The victory, UCF’s 39th of the season, propelled the squad into the 1-0 side of the regional bracket and secured its Saturday matchup with the Stetson Hatters, who pulled off an 8-3 triumph over the host No. 9 overall seed Florida State Seminoles just hours before.

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“What an incredible game, such a fun game to be a part of. Jacksonville State’s a really solid team, and it came down to dominant pitching, routine defense and clutch hitting. I’m extremely proud of our team and our women for staying the course and solving the puzzle there at the end.”

Cindy Ball-Malonehead coach

Trailing 1-0 with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, the Black and Gold never lost faith.

Sophomore utility Kendall Yarnell first came through with her first hit of the contest, a double that just stayed fair inside the third base line.

After Yarnell was replaced by pinch-runner Kalista Birkenstock, sophomore catcher Beth Damon, also in search of her first base hit of the game, came through with one of the biggest of her career. She lined a 2-1 offering into shallow left field to drive Birkenstock in and tie the affairs at one score apiece.

“I want to shout out Kendall first, because I’m not in that situation if she doesn’t get on with that double. I was sitting that pitch; we came into the game with a plan and flipped it to that pitch. I was just looking for that.”

Beth damonsophomore catcher

An inning later, UCF finished the job.

An infield single by junior second baseman Sierra Humphreys, who moments later stole second, gave UCF a runner in scoring position, and after redshirt senior Ashleigh Griffin moved Humphreys to third on a flyout to center field, Jaimes played hero.

She lined a 1-0 pitch back up the middle, scoring Humphreys and completing the comeback win for her squad.

The sophomore’s latest strong postseason showing, the third three-hit game of her NCAA Tournament career, ballooned her career NCAA Tournament average to .688 (11-for-16), accompanied by five RBI and 14 total bases in five games.

“Before that at-bat, coach Bear told me be ready, you’re going to be put in the same position as you were in a few innings ago. I was just trying to be prepared for my assignment and to do my job, whatever the team needed of me.”

Coco Jaimessophomore third baseman

The late-inning comeback would not have been possible without the collective effort of UCF’s pitching staff, as the trio of Tori Payne, Lena Elkins and Isabella Vega combined to hold the Gamecocks to just a single tally in eight innings.

Payne set the tone for the afternoon, stranding a pair of runners in the first inning in relief en route to throwing 3.1 innings of one-run ball, with Jacksonville State’s lone run coming on a second-inning solo home run.

Ball-Malone opted for Elkins with one out and two on in the top of the fourth inning, and Elkins answered the call. She worked out of the jam with a pair of infield ground balls, and accounted for 2.2 scoreless innings of her own before giving way to Isabella Vega in the seventh inning.

Vega, who clinched her 18th win of the season in UCF’s latest triumph, slammed the door shut, striking out three with just a pair of hits allowed in her two scoreless innings of work.

“We know that postseason can get crazy, and all of our pitchers have done very well over the course of the year. We’re looking to steal innings and outs as much as we can and put pressure on our opponents. From a defensive standpoint, we’re going to be offensive in the circle. In order to do that, with those changes we made today, they can stay offensive with their stuff.”

Cindy Ball-Maloneon her pitching staff

First pitch for UCF’s Saturday matchup with Stetson is set for 12 p.m. ET from JoAnne Graf Field and will be broadcast live on an affiliate of ESPN’s family of networks.

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.