• Final stats

ORLANDO, Fla. – Sophomore Alea White (9-5) pitched a complete-game shutout, propelling the UCF Knights (12-8) to a 1-0 victory over the Virginia Tech Hokies (10-10) Tuesday afternoon. This was the first of a double-header at home for the Knights.

White had a big game for the Knights, striking out seven batters and allowing one walk. The sophomore allowed only three hits in her seventh complete game in the last 10 games.

“Alea just did a fantastic job on the mound. She kept things mixed up,” Knights head coach Renee Luers-Gillispie said after the game. “We worked a lot of change-ups in there today.”

For Virginia Tech, Carrie Eberle (3-5) pitched all 6.0 innings, striking out six batters while allowing an earned run on three hits and two walks.

The game was scoreless for the first four innings, as White and Eberle combined for 11 strikeouts.

Sophomore Aubrey Johnson broke the drought in the bottom of the fifth inning when she scored the game’s first and only run. She doubled to right field before freshman Hayley Bejarano grounded out to second base, allowing Johnson to advance to third.

Junior Cassady Brewer, then, grounded out to second, driving in Johnson for the 1-0 lead.

“For her to be able to come in and have the hit that she did and be able to get that RBI,” Luers-Gillispie said of Brewer. “We worked the last day just working on being productive with our outs, and she did exactly that.”

The Knights allowed a base hit to start the sixth but finished the top half of the inning with a double play and a strikeout. Another scoreless outing by White and her defense gave UCF a chance to increase its lead, already up 1-0.

Freshman Denali Schappacher hit a one-out double to right-center field and advanced to third when senior Megan Greenwell grounded out in the Knights’ half of the sixth.

Both senior Courtney Rotton and freshman Kaitlyn Jensen, then, walked, loading the bases. The Knights, however, stranded all three runners when Johnson reached on a fielder’s choice to second, ending the inning.

Virginia Tech came close to tying the game in the seventh inning. Junior Emma Strouth sent a one-out double to right-center field and reached third base off an error from Greenwell. With only one out and Strouth on third, the Hokies’ next two batters both grounded out, ending the game.

“Great competition. Any time we can go against an Atlantic Coast Conference team and be able to go head-to-head with them, it’s a positive,” Luers-Gillispie said..

Who’s Next?

The Knights host Ball State University for the second game of their double-header at 3 p.m.

For more on the Knights, as they finish off a double-header in their return home, follow Nick Santiago on Twitter at @NickSantiagoUCF.