Friday, April 28
UCF 7, Houston 0 – Box Score
South Florida 5, Memphis 0 – Box Score
Wichita State vs Tulsa – Rain Delayed
Recaps
UCF 7, Houston 0 – Box Score
ORLANDO – Sarah Willis outdid herself once again.
The junior transfer authored another chapter in her storybook debut season with the UCF softball team in its series-opener against Houston Friday evening, throwing the third perfect game in program history, and the first of seven innings, to lead the Knights to their 7-0 victory over the visiting Cougars at the UCF Softball Complex.
Before 699 fans in attendance, Willis was masterful throughout the evening, retiring each of the 21 Houston (19-25, 6-7 The American) hitters she faced to record the Knights' (31-19, 10-3 The American) second no-hitter of the 2023 season, following Grace Jewell's six-inning effort against then-No. 22 Arizona State March 17, and the 22nd no-hitter in program history.
In tossing the third perfecto in program history, Willis joined Pysha Simmons and Taylor Sawyer in the exclusive club, with the first two both coming in run rule fashion in 24-0 and 11-0 victories over Morris Brown (Feb. 2, 2003) and Bucknell (March 13, 2003), respectively.
She accomplished the feat every bit as much with her glove on her left hand as with her right arm, recording six infield assists and one putout to help herself along to her current place in UCF softball lore.
The Ontario, California, native only grew stronger as the evening wore on. After needing 15 pitches to work through her first inning and 18 in the second, Willis dispatched of the Cougars on just seven pitches in the third and six in the fourth.
Willis needed only 10 pitches to navigate the fifth inning, inducing a trio of groundouts before collecting her third strikeout in a clean sixth inning that also included a popup back to the circle.
The right-hander was aided by her defense in closing out her historic evening in the top of the seventh, as left fielder Kennedy Searcy made a catch just inches above the outfield grass with one out. Shortstop Jasmine Williams kept calm when a slow ground ball headed in her direction moments later, placing a perfect throw to first baseman Shannon Doherty to cap off Willis' spotless outing.
Willis entered the evening with a glistening 1.94 season ERA, as well as a 0.92 mark within American Athletic Conference play that ranked first in the conference. Both numbers naturally dropped, as Willis now boasts a 1.81 season ERA (104.2 IP, 27 ER), good for third-lowest in The American, and her 0.78 ERA (45 IP, 5 ER) within conference play remains the best mark in the AAC by almost a half-run.
In her last 21 appearances (15 starts) since UCF's Feb. 23 doubleheader against Gardner-Webb, Willis boasts a miniscule 1.03 ERA (88.1 IP, 13 ER), racking up 79 strikeouts against just 32 walks while limiting her opposition to a .158 average.
Not that she needed the run support, but the Knights produced a seven-spot for their pitcher at the plate and on the basepaths, a refreshing return to form offensively following three narrow, low-scoring wins against South Florida last weekend.
Freshman utility infielder Aubrey Evans broke the ice in the bottom of the first inning with a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Kennedy Searcy, a tally that would prove the game-winning run.
UCF later tacked on a pair of three-run innings in the fifth and sixth frames, on the strength of Aubrey's three-run double in the fifth inning, a hit that extended her team-leading doubles total to 14. Center fielder Johneisha Rowe added an RBI fielder's choice in the sixth prior to Searcy's two-run single that capped off the offensive exploits for the Knights.
South Florida 5, Memphis 0 – Box Score
TAMPA – The University of South Florida (28-22, 7-6 The American) opened their final conference home series with a 5-0 win over the Memphis Tigers (8-37, 2-11 The American) on Friday afternoon.
South Florida wasted no time offensively, scoring five runs in the first two innings. Meghan Sheehan and Marissa Trivelpiece both had RBI singles in the first inning.
In the following inning, Jordyn Kadlub got on base with a single to left field. One batter later, Sheehan reached on a fielder's choice. Vivian Ponn cleared the bases with a three-run home run over the center field wall.
The Bulls turned two double plays in the game, one by pitcher Gabriella Nori. With a runner on first, Nori caught a shallow pop bunt and threw the runner out on first. Nori pitched five innings and struck out four batters. Ponn pitched the final two innings, not allowing a single walk.