Friday, Feb. 19-Saturday, Feb. 20
No. 24 UCF 18, New Mexico State 1 (5)
The Knights dominated in their home opener on Friday night, beating New Mexico State by scoring a program best 18 runs to come away with the 18-1 victory in five innings at the UCF Softball Complex.
"They say hitting is contagious," said UCF Softball head coach Cindy Ball-Malone. "We didn't settle in any inning and we continued to stay disciplined and swing at our pitches. Sometimes, once you get a few big hits, people start to try and lift the ball and get out in front. I just applaud our offense for staying disciplined, sticking to their plan, and staying within their own swings".
Starting pitcher Alea White shut down the Aggie bats, striking out seven in four innings, giving up one run, zero earned, on three hits and three walks. Angelina DeVoe shut the door with a one, two, three fifth inning.
With the win, White tied Shelby Turnier for the UCF record for most wins in school history with 80. The senior has been a mainstay in the UCF rotation her entire career and is already 3-0 in her three starts this season.
The UCF bats came to play, scoring four runs in each of the first two innings, six in the third, and four in the fourth. The 18-run outburst is tied for the most ever in program history. The Knights scored 18 in five innings on March 5th, 2008, against Bethune-Cookman. The 17-run win is the largest margin of victory ever. This all happened behind 17 hits, two of which were home runs.
Key Moments
NMSU opened the scoring in the first on an E4 to score Ramsay Lopez, putting the Aggies up 1-0
UCF freshman Kennedy Searcy stole second base after walking in the bottom of the first. She later scored on a single by Juliana Wilson to tie the game at one apiece.
A three-run homer to deep left-center by Jazmine Esparza in the bottom of the first made it 4-1 Knights.
A bomb to dead center by Georgia Blair made it 6-1 UCF in the second.
An error by the NMSU right fielder allowed two more Knights run to cross the plate in the second to make it 8-1 Knights.
Katie Burge reached base on an error in the bottom of the third and scored two batters later, making the score 9-1 UCF.
In the same inning, a two-run double from Esparza brought the score to 11-1 Knights.
Three RBI singles in the third made it 14-1 UCF.
Three RBI singles in the fourth made it 18-1 Knights.
NOTABLES
Kennedy Searcy stole two more bags in the contest, bringing her total up to six on the season.
Thirteen runs were the previous high under head coach Cindy-Ball Malone, set against FGCU in the first game of the 2021 season. Before that, it was 11 runs against Indiana in 2020.
18 runs are the most in a UCF home opener.
Georgia Blair hit her fourth homer of the season.
Jazmine Esparza's home run was her first of the season.
Seven strikeouts from White are the second-most this season
No. 24 UCF 11, New Mexico State 2 (5)
A day after posting a record-high 18 runs, the Knights continued their electric start to the 2021 season on Saturday, winning by run rule again to pull of the 11-2 win over New Mexico State at the UCF Softball Complex. With the win, UCF moves to 5-1 on the young season.
"I thought we did a really good job of laying off of unhittable pitches and waiting for ours," said head coach Cindy Ball-Malone. "It really shows to their discipline and buy in to what we are doing in our offensive plan and I love how each of our players eroded the pitcher pitch by pitch."
For the second straight day, the UCF bats were virtually unstoppable as the Knights scored multiple runs in every inning and totaled for 11 runs in just four innings. After posting 18 runs in game one, the Knights have chased New Mexico State pitching for 29 runs over the course of two days.
On the mound, senior Gianna Mancha (2-0) was solid in her second start of the year. Mancha tossed a five-inning complete game, allowing just two earned runs on four hits while also striking out four.
Key Moments
With two Knights in scoring position in the bottom of the first, UCF senior Jazmine Esparza ripped a line drive single to left, scoring both to put the Knights up 2-0 early.
Aggies' first baseman Kayla Bowen doubled in a run in the top of the second to cut New Mexico State's deficit to just 2-1.
Knights' backstop Karissa Ornelas hit a solo shot in the bottom of the second to extend the UCF lead to 3-1.
In the same inning, Georgia Blair cranked a home run to left center to drive in three more and put the Knights up 6-1.
The Aggies scored their second run of the game in the top of the third courtesy of an RBI single from Matalasi Faapito, making it a 6-2 ballgame.
Jazmine Esparza led off the bottom of the third with a solo shot to center to extend the UCF lead to 7-2.
Later in the inning, Kyra Klarkowksi dropped a bunt single and Allyse Volpe came around to score, putting UCF up 8-2.
Jada Cody singled in a run in the fourth to put UCF up 9-2.
Karissa Ornelas upped the UCF lead to 11-2 after a two-RBI double to center field in the fourth.
NOTABLES
The Knights swiped three bags in the victory.
The 11 runs posted on Saturday are tied for the third most for the Knights under head coach Cindy Ball-Malone.
The Knights hit a season-high three home runs in the contest.
Georgia Blair hit her fifth homer of the season.
Jazmine Esparza's home run was her second of the season. She finished the day 2-for-3 with 3 RBI.
ECU 9, Buffalo 4/ECU 4, Saint Francis (Pa.) 2
East Carolina picked up a pair of victories on day one of the Battle at the Beach Saturday, rolling past Buffalo 9-4 in the morning before turning around and rallying for a 4-2 win over Saint Francis inside St. John Stadium. Coastal Carolina University is hosting the two-day non-conference event.
The Pirates improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2006 while both the Bulls and Red Flash began their campaigns with losses.
Game One – East Carolina 9, Buffalo 4
Senior outfielder Olivia Narron went 3-for-4 with a run scored while a trio of ECU batters drove in two runs apiece. Sophomore infielder Bailey Ledvina, the reigning American Athletic Conference Player of the Week, rapped out two hits, scored two runs and collected her team-leading eight RBI of the season. Additionally, redshirt senior utility Rachel McCollum and freshman outfielder Sydney Yoder made their season debuts, combining for three hits and four RBI.
Madison Fernimen paced Buffalo with a 3-for-3 performance that included a pair of doubles and a home run.
Junior RHP Whitney Sanford (1-0) was credited with the victory in relief of freshman RHP Logyn Estes. Sanford surrendered three earned runs on five hits with two strikeouts and no walks before junior RHP Erin Poepping entered the game and finished things out with a pair of scoreless innings during which she struck out four batters.
Julia Tarantino (0-1) was tagged with the loss as the Pirates touched her up for eight runs (five earned) on nine hits. She struck out three and walked one in just 2.2 innings of work.
With one out, junior infielder Ashleigh Inae singled up the middle with one away before Ledvina dropped a single into center field and moved to second on the throw to third base where Inae stood safe. The next batter, junior infielder Chandley Garner, put East Carolina on top by a deuce with a two-run double. The Bulls responded with a run in the home half of the frame via a Rachel Steffen sacrifice fly.
The Pirates broke the game open in the top of the third, plating six runs on five hits and a pair of Buffalo errors. McCollum led things off with a single through the right side and Garner walked with one out before the runners moved into scoring position via a groundout. Freshman RHP/outfielder Logyn Estes then singled to right and scored McCollum to make it a 3-1 contest. After Estes swiped second base, Yoder sent a two-run single into center to increase the ECU advantage to 5-1. A fielding error extended the inning and Narron reached on an infield single before another error allowed Yoder to score to push the lead to five. McCollum capped the half inning off with a two-run single to leave the Pirates with an 8-1 cushion.
Buffalo tried to make it interesting in the fourth and fifth frames, scoring two unanswered runs to slice its deficit to 8-3, however, Ledvina launched her team-leading fourth home run of the season over the wall in left to start the sixth inning. Fernimen homered to center field in the bottom of the sixth to provide the game's final margin.
Game Two – East Carolina 4, Saint Francis 2
Garner led the way for ECU with a pair of hits and a run scored in the comeback win. McCollum, Estes and sophomore utility Keira Womack each drove in a run and accounted for three of the Pirates' five hits. Tayven Rousseau was 1-for-3 with the only two RBI of the game for the Red Flash.
Junior RHP Kama Woodall (2-0) went the distance for her first win and complete game of the season. She allowed just two runs on three hits with four strikeouts against three walks. Rachel Marsden (0-1) took the loss, giving up four runs (none earned) on five hits with one strikeout and no walks.
Woodall began the contest by quickly retiring SFU in order. Narron got on base right away in the home half of the inning, reaching on a throwing error by the Red Flash third baseman and advancing to second as a result of the miscue. She then moved the third on a groundout and crossed home after another grounder to give East Carolina the early upper hand.
A pitchers' duel ensued from there as both teams had a chance to dent the scoreboard in the fourth but left a pair of runners on base in each half inning.
After a quiet fifth, the bats got going in the sixth frame. A pair of one-out walks afforded the Red Flash an opportunity to tie or take the lead and SFU did just that. With two away, Rousseau took a 2-2 offering into right field and drove in both runners to propel her team in front, 2-1.
East Carolina answered right back in the bottom of the sixth. Inae was plunked by a 2-0 pitch and McCollum reached on a fielding error at short. With one out on the board, Garner singled up the middle to load the bases. Freshman catcher Sophie Wools then put a ball in play that resulted in a muffed throw by the catcher and pinch runner Natalie Ramirez scored to knot the score at two. With the bases still juiced, Estes drove a ball into center field that was deep enough to plate Ledvina and give the Pirates a one-run lead. Womack followed with an RBI single to make it 4-2 before a groundout ended the inning.
Woodall had little trouble in the top of the seventh, breezing through the Saint Francis lineup in short order to seal the victory.
Wichita State 9, Tarleton State 3/Wichita State 19, Lamar 0 (5)
Sophomore Lauren Mills was the story of the afternoon for Wichita State who went 2-0 on the opening day of the Scrap Yard Blizzard Challenge.
Wichita State defeated Tarleton State (9-3) and Lamar (19-0) to begin the season, but it was Mills' performance at the plate in game two vs. Lamar that stole the headlines. Mills set a new school record with three home runs in the game, something no other Shocker had accomplished before. Two of her three bombs came in the same inning, an 8-run second inning for Wichita State. She finished 3-for-3 with six RBI in the 19-0 run-rule.
Wichita State began the day with a 9-3 win over Tarleton State, who is playing its first season as a Division I program. Bailey Lange got the start in the circle pitching all 7.0 innings. She allowed three runs on nine hits, while striking out nine batters.
Freshman Addison Barnard got the start in her first collegiate game, and registered her first career home run. She finished 2-for-2 at the plate with two RBI and three runs scored. Neleigh Herring went 3-for-3 with a home run, three RBI and two runs scored.
Wichita State scored in each of the first three innings, taking a 5-0 lead before Tarleton got on the board in the fifth to make it 5-2. The Shockers immediately answered in the home half of the fifth with three more runs to increase the lead to six. Both teams added one more run each in the sixth inning.
In game two, Madison Perrigan drove in five runs behind a pair of doubles and Herring had another stellar outing at the plate, going 3-for-4 with three RBI. Sydney McKinney drove in three of her own and Sydney Nichols plated the final two.
Erin McDonald struck out a career-high 11 in 5.0 innings of work, allowing no runs on just two hits.
After a scoreless first inning the floodgates opened in the top of the second. Mills led off the inning with her first homer of the day, a solo bomb. Later in the inning Perrigan drove in a pair on a double to right. Herring then traded places with Perrigan on a double of her own. The very next batter, Mills, made it 8-0 Wichita State on her second home run of the inning - this one a two-run shot.
After back-to-back doubles from Perrigan (two RBI) and Herring (one RBI) made it 11-0 Shockers, Mills made her final plate appearance count. She unloaded the bases with a three-run blast to make it 14-0 for her record-setting third home run of the game.
Wichita State tacked on four more runs in the fourth and one in the fifth to put the cherry on top.