Knights Run Away with 1st Leg of Double-header

• Final stats

ORLANDO, Fla. – After a slow start, the first game of a double-header between the UCF Knights and the Princeton Tigers sped up.

The UCF Knights (18-11) won 6-1 against the Princeton Tigers (1-14) Wednesday at the UCF Softball Complex in front of an announced crowd of 345.

Sophomore Alea White (13-7) started her 18th game for the Knights and allowed one earned run while striking out two batters in 5.0 innings. White walked three batters and allowed three hits before being relieved by sophomore Damara Begin.

For Princeton, right-hander Allie Reynolds (1-7) pitched all 6.0 innings for the Tigers, allowing six runs off seven hits and two walks. Reynolds struck out five batters in the first leg of the double-header.

UCF opened the scoring in the bottom of the third after center fielder Kyra Klarkowski singled to the shortstop and stole second. Knights catcher Alyssa Oakes then reached first off a fielder’s choice. A bunt by freshman Denali Schappacher loaded the bases after Reynolds elected to throw home, but no base runner was headed that way.

Then, a sacrifice fly by pinch hitter Brooke Barlow advanced Klarkowski home for the first run of the game. Third baseman Courtney Rotton followed that up with a shot to the warning track in right field for a two-RBI triple to bring the Knights’ lead to 3-0.

The Knights scored one more in the bottom of the third when Rotton reached home via a fielder’s choice initiated by sophomore Aubrey Johnson to strengthen the Knights’ lead to 4-0.

UCF senior Megan Greenwell stole a season-high three bases. After she was hit by a pitch to start the fifth inning, she attempted to steal second and was tagged out. She wasn’t called out, though, because of obstruction by Princeton second baseman Mikayla Blaska. Then, Greenwell stole third and reached home when first baseman Jazmine Esparza doubled to left-center field and gave the Knights a 5-1 lead.

“For some reason, for me, it’s easier to steal third than it is for second,” Greenwell said after the second game. “So, it was close at second, and I was like, ‘I got third.’ [Head coach Renee Luers-Gillispie] had my back. She knew I could do it. It was cool that she called it for me.”

Princeton almost responded to the Knights’ third-inning scoring spree in the fourth.

An error by Jensen, who switched to shortstop to start the inning, allowed Princeton junior Kaylee Grant to reach first base. Then, catcher Keeley Walsh was walked to put two on base with just one out. A two-out passed ball allowed both runners to advance, but the inning ended with a groundout and two Tigers left on base.

The Tigers scored their lone run in the next inning in a bases-loaded situation. Shortstop Allison Harvey made contact with the ball and reached first on a fielder’s choice, also allowing Mackenzie Meyer to score from third.

UCF allowed just one run from Princeton’s five-hit performance and ensured the win with Begin ending the game, allowing just two hits in 2.0 innings.

Errors, Wild Pitches Gift Princeton 2nd Win of Season

• Final stats

ORLANDO, Fla. – Most of the Knights who started the second leg of the double-header didn’t finish the game.

UCF (18-12) lost 7-4 to Princeton (2-14) to conclude the day’s games.

“The thought process was [to] stay with the same thing,” Luers-Gillispie said. “We have three pitchers who we’re trying to figure out who’s gonna be No. 2 for us, and no one right now is stepping up.”

Sophomore Kamryn Toney started on the mound for the Knights and pitched 2.0 innings and recorded one strikeout. She walked four batters and allowed one run off one hit.

Toney was relieved by Begin (2-2), who closed out the first game for UCF. Suffering the loss, Begin also pitched 2.0 innings but allowed five runs, two earned, on a team-high six hits.

Senior Ashley LaGuardia (1-6) pitched all 7.0 innings for Princeton, recording four strikeouts. She walked five batters and allowed four runs off nine hits.

UCF entered the fifth inning leading 3-2, but three Tigers runs with no outs forced UCFs coaching staff to make significant changes to the team’s defense. Six new players entered the game, including a pitching change. One of the few who wasn’t subbed out was Rotton, who shifted to second base.

“No one was playing tough. No one was fighting for the outs. You know, we’re having balls dropping in; we’ve got balls going through the infield, and I was tired of it,” Luers-Gillispie said. “What we had to do was make a change and get them fired up, and you saw the difference on it.

“In the sixth and seventh innings, they were fired up, and the ones that came in were excited about getting that opportunity to get off the bench and get out there and get a chance to show themselves.”

Said Greenwell on the Knights’ mid-game lineup change: “We were just really flat. A lot of the starters got complacent with what we were doing. So, we needed more energy, and all the people off the bench came in and did an awesome job. So, it was just great to see them do that.”

The hectic inning started when senior Kylee Pierce singled to the shortstop and advanced to second from a Megan Donahey bunt. Pierce ran home to tie the game when Harvey singled to the UCF logo in center field.

Then, Grant hit a single up the middle and reached second when Klarkowski bobbled the ball. Both runners who were on base reached home to pull the Tigers ahead 5-3.

Princeton wasn’t done, though. Another error, this time by recent substitute Ali Little allowed Grant to score after Walsh singled to left field. Princeton increased the margin to four runs when Blaska grounded out to second base to allow Walsh to run home.

“Every time we had an error or had a situation where they advanced a runner to a base on a passed ball or a wild pitch, that’s giving up free bases,” Luers-Gillispie said. “We just gave up way too many free bases.”

Before the fifth-inning shakeup, UCF kept the Tigers at bay in the second inning even with erratic pitching.

After throwing two wild pitches in the first inning, Toney threw two more in the following inning. Blaska took advantage of one of the erroneous pitches after singling to left field, moving into scoring position because of Toney’s first wild pitch of the inning. She then stole third and started running home after another wild pitch. Toney ran up to the bag, but Oakes recovered and dove head-first with her glove outstretched to tag the runner out at home.

“If you saw, the first time [Oakes] had an opportunity to do that and didn’t. We talked to her about she has to make that play,” Luers-Gillespie said. “It’s tough for a pitcher to come in and make that play to be able to get in a good position and not get hurt.

“And she had that opportunity to do it again and got the out that time. She did a good job of staying with the play.”

Both teams scored in the first before Princeton took a narrow, one-run lead in the third. UCF, however, responded with two runs of its own to retake the lead.

After Jensen drew a one-out walk, freshman Kendyl Lange pinch ran for her. A double by Johnson allowed Lange to advance to third, and a sacrifice bunt by Esparza allowed her to reach home. Then, freshman Hayley Bejarano hit the ball toward the shortstop, who bobbled the ball and allowed Johnson to score an unearned run to give the Knights a 3-2 lead.

Who’s Next?

The Knights will have a day off before they open conference play against the University of Tulsa on Friday at 5:30 p.m. at the UCF Softball Complex.

For more on the Knights, as they begin conference play, follow Tommy Cardinal on Twitter at @NDR_TomCardinal.