• Final stats

ORLANDO, Fla. – Black capes with golden suns and moons draped the UCF Knights following a victory over one of the nation’s top-five teams. Those capes are only given to the team after a dominant defensive performance, which is exactly what Wednesday’s game was for UCF.

The Knights (25-13, 5-1 in American Athletic Conference) won 1-0 against the No. 4 Florida Gators (32-5) in front of a sold-out, record-breaking crowd of 1,236 at the UCF Softball Complex. The previous attendance record of 1,091 was set in 2010.

“This is what sports is all about,” UCF head coach Renee Luers-Gillispie said after the game. “You get that when you go to Florida. Now we were able to give that when Florida came to us.

“So, it was exciting to have the fans. Thank you so much for coming out and being able to be a part of this.”

Sophomore Alea White (19-8) pitched all 7.0 innings for the Knights, striking out one batter and allowing just one hit in 113 pitches. White also walked five batters.

“A one-hitter shutout—that’s huge to be able to go against the No. 4 team in the country and do that.”

Senior Aleshia Ocasio (14-3) was the Gators’ starter. Ocasio allowed one run off five hits in 6.0 innings. She struck out five batters while giving up no walks.

UCF got off to a fast start, scoring in the first inning. With one out, Aubrey Johnson hit a low ball to right field just out of the reach of second baseman Hannah Adams. Senior Courtney Rotton’s fly ball to right field allowed Johnson to tag first and reach second.

Johnson elected to take second base on Rotton’s fly ball because of the film she studied.

“We just watched a lot of video on everybody,” Johnson said after the win. “So, we knew the arm strength, and I just knew that the right fielder—I knew I could run on her. I just took advantage on that.”

Then, Johnson ran home after catcher Cassady Brewer singled through the right side to give the Knights a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

For Brewer, getting on the board early took the weight off White’s shoulders.

“Aubrey did a great job of getting on base and getting in scoring position, and then I was really excited to get that run early for Alea,” Brewer said after the game. “I knew it would settle her down a little bit because she was a little worried about the tight strike zone.

“And, obviously, Florida is a really good hitting team, so I was really excited to do that for her, especially being her catcher. I love when I can calm her down like that.”

Brewer reached base once again in the bottom of the fourth off a hit that landed between the shortstop and left fielder. Brewer was left on base, though, after freshman Kaitlyn Jensen and first baseman Jazmine Esparza popped up to third and grounded out, respectively, to end the inning.

The Gators stranded six runners on base in the first five innings, drawing all five of White’s five walks then, but the Knights were able to hold on to their one-run lead, not allowing any batters reach first in the final two innings. Entering the game, the most batters White had walked was four in a 3-2 loss to James Madison University on Feb. 24.

“The walks were the walks,” White said after the game. “I told [Luers-Gillispie], ‘I’m sorry about the walks, but he wasn’t giving us the river tonight,’ and if I put it in more over the plate—that was not gonna happen.

“So I just told Coach, ‘I’m gonna take the walks.’”

White and UCF’s defense held the Gators, who average 6.8 runs per game, to no runs. The Gators had only been shut out once before in the 2017-18 season in a 5-0 loss to the FIU Panthers on March 28.

“Defense is what it’s all about,” Luers-Gillispie said. “You win championships, and they did that today.

Who’s Next?

The Knights return to conference play when they travel to Connecticut to start a three-game series with the UConn Huskies. Game 1 is set for Friday at 4 p.m. The Huskies are 0-6 in AAC play, so far.

For more on the Knights, as they look to build on their 5-1 conference record, follow Tommy Cardinal on Twitter at @NDR_TomCardinal.