Friday, April 23
No. 25 UCF 10, Memphis 2 (6)/No. 25 UCF 8, Memphis 0
History was made Friday night at Tigers Softball Complex in Memphis, Tennessee as UCF senior Gianna Mancha tossed a no-hitter, striking out 13 to lead the Knights to their second victory of the day over the Tigers.
Riding Mancha's historic performance, the Knights took down Memphis, 8-0, in game two of a doubleheader with the Tigers. In game one, the Knights came away with the 10-2 win.
With the wins, UCF moves to 32-12-1, 11-6-1 on the season.
"[Gianna] came out just jumping ahead of hitters all night," said head coach Cindy Ball-Malone. "Her ball was moving really well and her timing was on today. The matchup against Memphis was a really good one for her, and the way her ball was biting made it hard to hit. It's not like one pitch was dominating either because she had strikeouts on every one of her pitches. It was awesome to watch."
The Knights scored a combined 18 runs in the two wins, winning by virtue of the run rule in both games.
"We practiced being aggressive and hitting for the runner," said Ball-Malone. "I feel like we swung the bat way more than we took pitches tonight. We also ran the bases really well, took extras bases when we could, took advantage of some sac-fly situations and read the ball in the dirt. All of that combined really moved the momentum of our offense.
"It was good for our lineup to get going again. We were getting a lot of runs across which means we were putting pressure on them."
The Knights will face the Tigers again Saturday at 3:00 p.m. ET before wrapping up the series with a 12:00 p.m. ET game on Sunday.
GAME ONE – UCF 10 // Memphis 2
The bats were alive in game one Friday night as UCF hitters combined for 10 runs on 12 hits to take down the Tigers, 10-2.
There were four UCF home runs in the win, including two off the bat of Jada Cody, who finished the game 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored. Shannon Doherty and Juliana Wilson also knocked balls out of the park.
In the circle for the Knights, Alea White needed to throw just five innings to earn the complete game victory as UCF led by eight runs after five innings. White was dominant to begin the game, allowing just two baserunners through the first four innings before giving up a two-run home run to Memphis in the fifth.
White allowed just the two earned runs in five innings, striking out five to move to 16-4 on the year.
Key Moments
The Knights got on the board early as Denali Schappacher led off the game with a walk and came around to score on a Georgia Blair RBI single, putting UCF up 1-0.
Later in the first, Juliana Wilson hit a sacrifice-fly to drive in another run and extend the Knights' lead to 2-0.
Shannon Doherty hit a two-run home run in the third to put UCF up 4-0.
Jada Cody led off the top of the fourth with a solo home run to extend the Knights' lead to 5-0.
Two batters later, Juliana Wilson hit a solo shot of her own to make it a 6-0 UCF lead.
Later in the fourth inning, Justene Molina doubled to drive in a pair, moving the Black and Gold's lead to 8-0.
Two batters later, Jazmine Esparza singled in Molina, putting UCF up 9-0.
Jada Cody led off the fifth inning with a solo home run, her second of the game, to make it a 10-0 UCF lead.
The Tigers struck back with a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth, cutting their deficit to 10-2.
GAME TWO – UCF 8 // Memphis 0
The UCF offense kept their momentum from game one rolling into the second game of the doubleheader on Friday as the Knights scored eight, but one run would have been more than enough for starting pitcher Gianna Mancha, who was quite literally un-hittable.
Despite a roughly 30-minute rain delay in the middle of the game, Mancha did not lose her poise as she tossed six hitless and scoreless innings while striking out a career-high 13 batters to secure her first career no-hitter (UCF's first since 2019) and lead her team to the 8-0 win. With the win, Mancha moved to 11-4 on the season.
The Knights wasted no time getting on the board in game two, posting three runs in the first inning to take the early lead over Memphis. At the top of the lineup, Denali Schappacher was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and two runs scored.
Two home runs in the third inning off the bats of Jazmine Esparza and Shannon Doherty (her second of the day) would pad the Knights' lead, putting them up 7-0 before Schappacher would come around to score on a wild pitch to give UCF the 8-0 lead.
With the win, UCF moved to 32-12-1 on the season.
Key Moments
Georgia Blair and Juliana Wilson each drove in a run with RBI doubles in the top of the first, putting UCF up 2-0 early.
An RBI single from Karissa Ornelas later in the inning would extend the Knights' lead to 3-0.
Denali Schappacher scored on a passed ball in the second to make it a 4-0 UCF lead.
A solo home run from Shannon Doherty in the third would extend the Knights' lead to 5-0.
Later in the inning, Jazmine Esparza hit a two-run shot to put UCF up 7-0.
Schappacher came around to score on a wild pitch in the sixth inning, giving the Knights the 6-0 lead.
NOTABLES
Mancha's no-hitter marked the 18th in program history.
The last UCF no-hitter was thrown by Alea White against Coastal Carolina on Feb. 22, 2019.
The no-hitter was the fifth in UCF history against an AAC opponent.
The last UCF no-hitter thrown against an AAC opponent was by Mackenzie Audas on April 11, 2015.
Mancha's 13 strikeouts are a career-high (previous; 11 vs FIU – 02/22/2020)
With the two home runs, Shannon Doherty has 11 home runs this season, tied with Georgia Blair for the team lead
The Knights have only ever had four seasons with two players hitting 10 or more home runs (2002, 2004, 2005 and now 2021).
With the win, UCF has now won five straight over the Tigers dating back to 2019.
Tulsa 3, East Carolina 0/Tulsa 7, East Carolina 0
Chenise Delce led the Hurricane from the circle and the plate, as Tulsa defeated the ECU Pirates 3-0 and 7-0 in a series opening double-header Friday afternoon at the Max R. Joyner Family Stadium.
On the day Delce went 2-4 from the plate driving in two runs while drawing 3 walks. In the circle, the sophomore picked up her 5th win of the season throwing a complete game shut-out in the Hurricane's 3-0 victory. In the shutout, Delce threw a career-high 13 strikeouts while allowing just one hit.
Aubree Seaney's batt was vital for the Hurricane in the opening day wins, as the first baseman went 4-8 on the day, driving in two of TU's 10 runs.
Tulsa used clutch hitting in the first game, as TU scored 3 runs in the final two innings to take the victory. In the top of the 6th inning, Sarah Briers singled home Imani Edwards to give the Hurricane its first lead of the game. Delce and Seaney used singles in the top of the 7th to drive in two more runs for TU.
In the second game, Tulsa started off hot, as Kylie Norwood, Haley Morgan and Alexis Perry combined to give TU an early 2-0 lead. The lead is all Samantha Pochop would need, as she picked up her 8th win of the season, throwing 6 shutout innings.
The Hurricane improved to 19-10 on the season and 10-3 in American Athletic Conference play, while the Pirated fell to 11-26 on the year and 2-12 in AAC action.
Tulsa will be back in action tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. CT for the third game of the 4-game series against the ECU Pirates at Max R. Joyner Family Stadium.
GAME 1
Delce drew her 13th start of the season, throwing a complete game shutout against the Pirates in game one of the double-header. From the plate, Haley Morgan and Aubree Seaney went 3-4 for the Hurricane.
Delce recorded a career-high 13 strikeouts in the game, throwing 7 innings while allowing just one hit. The sophomore ace made it to the 5th inning before allowing the only Pirate's hit of the game.
The Tulsa bats came alive in the 6th inning, as Seaney started the inning with a single down the left field line. Imani Edwards drew a walk before Sarah Briers singled home Seaney to give TU its first lead of the game.
The Hurricane continued the strong hitting in the 7th inning as Morgan singled to start the frame. After stealing second base, Morgan scored on a Delce single down the right field line.
Gracie Jarvis pinch ran for the Hurricane, advancing to second on a ground out. Jarvis crossed the plate on the next play, as Seaney singled to center field.
The Hurricane recorded 11 hits in the game, but TU struggled to score runs leaving a combined 10 runners on base.
Sarah Briers recorded the only extra base hit in the game with a double, while Morgan and Edwards both stole bases in the game.
Delce's 13 strikeouts passed her previous high on 12 which she set on Feb. 15, 2019 in her third collegiate start against Mercer.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Tulsa 0 0 0 0 0 1 2
ECU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
WP: Delce, C. (5-5) LP: Woodall, K. (6-14)
GAME 2
The Hurricane came out and dominated the second game of the double-header recording 7 runs on 9 hits, while keeping the Pirates scoreless.
Kylie Norwood started the game off with a bang, tripling down the right field line. During the next at bat Morgan set a TU single-season record by being hit by a pitch for the 16th time this year.
Morgan stole second, drawing an error from the ECU second baseman scoring Norwood from third. Morgan advanced to third on the throwing error, scoring on a Perry groundout.
With a 2-0 lead, Samantha Pochop entered the circle for Tulsa, sporting a team-high 7-1 record. Pochop was calm and collected on the rubber, throwing 6 innings of softball without allowing a run.
With two outs in the top of the third, Perry drove a single into center field. Delce followed suit doubling to left center, scoring Perry from first base and extending the Hurricane lead to 3-0.
In the top of the fifth, Tulsa broke open the game as back-to-back walks by Perry and Delce put two on with one out for TU. The walks force the Pirates to make a pitching change; the first of two in the inning.
Edwards chopped a single over the first baseman's head scoring Perry from second base. Edwards stole second and advanced to third after a wild pitch scored Delce.
Seaney continued the inning with a single through the right-side scoring Edwards. Sarah Briers' single through the left side put two on with one out. Kylee Nash pinch hit for Tulsa with two outs in the inning, singling home Seaney with a shot up the middle.
Pochop moved to 8-1 on the season, throwing 6 innings while not allowing a run on 7 hits. The junior finished the contest with 6 strikeouts while facing 24 batters. Sara Llamas-Howell finished the game for Tulsa facing 4 batters while not allowing a run nor hit.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Tulsa 2 0 1 0 4 0 0
ECU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
WP: Pochop, S. (8-1) LP: Poepping, E. (3-8)
USF 2, No. 23 Wichita State 1
The University of South Florida softball team earned a 2-1 victory over the No. 23 Wichita State Shockers to open the four-game weekend series.
Georgina Corrick (Sanford, Fla.) earned the complete-game victory, only allowing two hits while striking out 10 Shockers in the game. Kyndall Williams (Trenton, Fla.) hit her third career home run, while Emilee Hanlon (Dunkirk, N.Y.) scored the game-winning run in the fifth.
Williams started the Bulls offense early, hitting a one-run homer to left center in the first inning. On defense, Corrick took a no-hitter into the sixth, allowing only two baserunners in the first five innings via a walk and hit-by-pitch.
Brooke Hartman (Port Orange, Fla.) doubled to start the fifth and was pinch-run for by Hanlon. Two batters later, Hanlon scored to give the Bulls a 2-0 lead.
Wichita State broke through in the sixth. The second batter of the inning singled to end Corrick's no-hit bid and scored in the next at bat off a triple from Addison Barnard. Corrick shut down the Shocker's offense for the rest of the game, earning her 16th win of the year.
Quotable
Head coach Ken Eriksen on today's win…
"Nice game today for the Bulls. Georgina did a nice job with Josie of mixing spots and speeds. I thought our hitters had a nice, mature plan against Wichita State's Lange. Winning game one in a four-game series is a good start. We need to grind over the weekend."
Notables
AnaMarie Bruni (Schwenksville, Pa.) stole her 31st base of the season in the game. She's two shy of tying the USF single-season record of 33 set by Shelly Riker in 2002. Bruni has already tied Riker's mark once in her career, stealing 33 in 2019.
Corrick has thrown double-digit strikeouts in 13 appearances this season.
Head coach Ken Eriksen now has 997 career wins. With a sweep against the Shockers, he would hit 1,000 on Sunday.