PROVO, Utah — The UCF softball team dropped its Big 12 Conference series finale to the BYU Cougars Saturday afternoon, 9-1, in a 6-inning Run Rule contest at Gail Miller Field at Miller Park.
The Knights saw a fast offensive start for the third consecutive game in the series, striking in the top of the first inning with two outs. Aubrey Evans lined her fourth double of the spring to left field, and was immediately followed by Izzy Mertes’ first career triple down the right field line, giving the Black and Gold an early 1-0 lead.
The RBI marked her 23rd of the season, good for second-most on the squad behind fellow freshman Beth Damon’s 27.
BYU answered with a run in the home half to tie the game at one, though, and would go on to score eight more times in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth frames.
Timely hitting, airtight defense and stingy showings in the circle had defined victories in the first two games.
Led by a three-hit, four-RBI showing from fifth year senior Stormy Kotzelnick and a five-inning complete game authored by redshirt freshman Isabella Vega, the Knights toppled the BYU Cougars in run-rule fashion, 9-1 in five innings, to open the teams’ three-game series Thursday.
The Black and Gold utilized a 10-hit barrage, marking their third game in their last four with at least 10 hits, and the team’s 10th in double figures this season, while Vega limited the Cougars to just three.
Facing BYU’s ace right-hander Kaysen Korth, who entered the evening with the seventh-lowest ERA in the Big 12 Conference at 1.81 through a team-leading 96.2 innings, UCF pounced early, doing most of its damage with two outs as nearly all 10 starters factored into a lengthy first frame, one that saw the Knights send nine hitters to the plate and score three times to set their tone for the game.
The Black and Gold would double up its run total in the second and add another three-run inning in the fourth as they cruised to the victory.
The support proved plenty for Vega, tabbed for her 12th start in her 20th appearance this season, who after surrendering BYU’s lone tally to lead off the second inning, retired 12 of the final 14 Cougars she faced in needing just 50 pitches to polish off her sixth complete game of the year.
Evans, meanwhile, led a clean defensive evening for her team as well, most notably adding a pair of highlight-reel plays to help Vega through the second inning with just one run allowed on a solo home run.
The redshirt freshman, now having produced nine appearances of at least five innings and two or fewer walks allowed, has yielded only 1.84 walks per seven innings through her team-leading 83.2 innings this spring, a mark that ranks just outside the top 10 on the program’s all-time single-season list.
Kotzelnick’s four RBI, meanwhile, set a new single-season high and tied her previous single-game career high, one she accomplished twice before, most recently as a member of the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns against the Michigan Wolverines Feb. 17, 2023.
The squad’s Friday evening contest represented perhaps one of the greatest such examples not only of the weekend, but of the spring as a whole.
Senior right-hander Kaitlyn Felton turned in a gritty seven-inning display, bolstered by a pair of double plays, a perfectly-executed relay from right field, and a pair of highlight-reel catches in the game’s final frame, in leading her team to a 4-3 win.
For the second straight game, and their fourth of their last five, the Knights found the scoreboard in the first inning. Sierra Humphreys drew a leadoff walk and Samantha Rey followed with an infield single. Evans soon followed with a single to left, and both runners would score on an error by left fielder.
Staked to the 2-0 advantage, Felton delivered four straight scoreless frames, marking her ninth start of the season and 22nd appearance overall.
UCF added to its advantage in the top of the fourth on Damon’s team-leading seventh home run of the season, the third-most home runs by a freshman in program history, trailing only Jania Shinhoster’s 12 and Stephanie Best’s 11, both coming in the program’s inaugural 2002 season.
The Black and Gold added what would prove to be a necessary insurance tally in the top of the sixth on a Kotzelnick RBI single.
Through BYU would hit solo home runs in each of the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, UCF’s defensive efforts continued to support Felton, as the Knights turned their second double play of the game in the home half of the sixth and in the seventh saw a pair of standout catches by Rey in left field and Madison Simon in center to preserve UCF’s one-run victory.
Up Next:
The Knights will look to bounce back in their penultimate home series of the season, welcoming the No. 17 Oklahoma State Cowgirls to Orlando this Thursday thru Saturday. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. from the UCF Softball Complex on both Thursday and Friday and at noon on Saturday. All games will be streamed on ESPN+.
