ORLANDO, FLORIDA – After dropping the first two games of the series to No. 24 in South Carolina on Saturday, No. 20 Knights bounced back on Sunday, posting 10 runs on 14 hits to take down the Gamecocks, 10-4, in your place.
The victory took UCF to 19-6 this season.
“It is always important to end the weekend on a high note,” said trainer Cindy Ball-Malone. “We want to have that momentum in our next competition and having these games on our resume is good as we move on to the next phase of our schedule.”
The Knights jumped to a 1-0 lead at the start of the first inning courtesy of a Georgia Blair solo shot at the top of the first.
The home run marked Blair’s ninth place of the season, drawing her to first place on The American in that respect. She now also leads the league in RBI, hiking and total bases.
Black and gold scored two more runs at the top of the third, before South Carolina responded with two of its own to make the game 3-2. That score would remain until UCF posted a monstrous fifth inning of six races that included four strokes and four hikes to climb 9-3 over the Gamecocks.
“I loved how the bottom of our line produced a few runs for us and moved them to the top of our line. It was amazing to see, ”continued Ball-Malone.
“We played loose and we played our game. We are doing a better job of learning to keep going instead of going up and down. “
The Knights would increase their lead in the seventh with another race, while the Gamecocks would try to retaliate by adding two more races of their own, but that would not be enough, as the Knights would win 10-4.
At the UCF wheel, Alea White was called at the start. White threw 4.2 entries, allowing for two wins in four strokes and two walks, while eliminating six.
With the win, she moves to 10-1 in the season. Following White out of the bullpen was Gianna Mancha, who contributed 2.1 innings, allowing two runs (one win) and eliminating a pair.
The victory marked Knights’ second place over a top 25 team after UCF also beat No. 2 Arizona 2-0 at the UCF Softball Complex on March 8.
CLICK HERE FOR BREVARD COUNTY NEWS
