• Final stats

ORLANDO, Fla. – Unlike their opponent, the UCF Knights didn’t make many mistakes Tuesday night. Two errors in the first inning by the visitors set the tone for the Knights’ blowout win over Bethune-Cookman University.

The Knights (22-12, 3-0 in American Athletic Conference) beat the Wildcats (16-20) 8-0 at the UCF Softball Complex in front of 356 fans.

Sophomore Kamryn Toney (3-3) started for the Knights, striking out one batter in 3.0 innings. Toney didn’t walk any batters or allow any runs while only giving up one hit.

UCF head coach Renee Luers-Gillispie previously said she was searching for a No. 2 pitcher. After the game, when asked if Toney helped her case for that role, Luers-Gillisipie said she did.

“Yeah, I think Kamryn definitely worked hard,” Luers-Gillispie said after the game. “We were pitching by committee tonight. They knew we were gonna be doing that in this game, and we wanted to get at least three innings out with Kam, and she did a great job.”

Sophomore Damara Begin and freshman Cierra Word each pitched an inning and combined for one walk and one strikeout to finish the game.

Freshman Alexis Bermudez (6-8) recorded one strikeout in 3.1 innings for the Wildcats. Bermudez allowed six runs (four earned) on eight hits.

UCF ended the game early with a four-run fourth inning after the Wildcats failed to score in the fifth. The scoring started with help from sophomore Megan Greenwell, who had nine stolen bases entering the game. Greenwell continued that trend by stealing second after reaching first base on a single up the middle.

Freshman Denali Schappacher brought Greenwell home when she hit a ball to shallow left field. Senior Wildcat Mariah Davis was unable to come up with the diving catch, allowing Greenwell to score and Schappacher to reach second, giving the Knights a 5-0 lead in the fourth inning.

Then, the Wildcats made a pitching change, sending sophomore Mariah Estrada to the mound. The change didn’t help, though, as second baseman Aubrey Johnson and third baseman Courtney Rotton both hit singles to left field, loading the bases with one out.

Knights catcher Cassady Brewer was then thrown four balls in a row for a walk, advancing Schappacher home and giving the Knights a 6-0 lead. Next to bat was pinch hitter Tamesha Glover, who was also walked to give the Knights a 7-0 lead.

The eighth run came when first baseman Brooke Barlow reached first off a fielder’s choice, allowing Rotton to score.

UCF got off to a quick start against the Wildcats starting with the first batter.

Leading off for the Knights was Schappacher, who reached first with a bunt to start the game. Schappacher was able to advance when Rotton belted the ball above the first baseman and into shallow right field. A throw to third was mishandled by the Wildcats, and Schappacher was called safe at third.

With Rotton and Schappacher in scoring position, a single to right field by Brewer allowed Schappacher to reach home and give the Knights a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

Errors by the Wildcats allowed the Knights to expand their lead. When Rotton attempted to steal home, she got caught in a pickle between third and home plate and scored on an error by the second baseman to make it a 2-0 game.

“Coach always talks about capitalizing on their mistakes, as well,” Rotton said after the game. “If they make mistakes when we hit it hard on the ground, things are gonna happen and just to capitalize on it.”

Barlow then hit a single up the middle, allowing Brewer to reach home and extending the Knights’ lead to 3-0 before the opening inning ended when sophomore Kyra Klarkowski fouled out.

Luers-Gillispie blamed the Wildcats’ mistakes on UCF pressuring their fielders early.

“I think we knew going into this game that we had to put a lot of pressure on them,” Luers-Gillispie said. “With Denali starting off with a little bunt for a hit and then Meg coming up with a big hit. We wanted to put pressure on them, and that’s exactly what they did, and that’s when mistakes happen.”

The fourth run for the Knights came in the second inning with help from Greenwell’s base-running ability, once again. After bunting to reach first, Greenwell stole her 10th base of the year to reach second and advanced to third when Schappacher laid down a sacrifice bunt.

“It’s just great to steal bases and get in scoring position for your team,” Greenwell said after the game. “It’s fun also to steal a base on someone, but it’s just great for the team.”

Greenwell tagged home plate after Johnson singled to left field and made the game 4-0 in the Knights’ favor.

Who’s Next?

The Knights return to conference play when they travel to Texas for a three-game series against the University of Houston at the Cougar Softball Stadium Thursday at 6 p.m.

For more on the Knights, as they look to extend their four-game win streak, follow Tommy Cardinal on Twitter at @NDR_TomCardinal.