The UCF Knights (34-21, 12-9 in American Athletic Conference) beat the ECU Pirates (23-31, 8-13 in AAC) 4-3 in a tightly contested game to earn the series sweep at home on Sunday morning.
Entering the fifth inning, both teams were tied at 1-1. UCF, then, took a 4-1 lead, scoring three runs off four hits.
The first hit was a lead-off double from sophomore Kyra Klarkowski. After a sacrifice bunt from sophomore Aubrey Johnson, junior Erin Emanuel singled, allowing Klarkowski to score.
Then, redshirt sophomore Tamesha Glover pinch ran for Emanuel on second and promptly scored off a single to left field by junior Brooke Barlow. The last run of the inning came from Barlow, who scored off an RBI by senior Megan Greenwell.
In the seventh inning, the Pirates came close to tying the game. After the Pirates made it a 4-2 game in the sixth, freshman Ashleigh Inae tallied her only RBI of the game in the final inning, singling to the left side so sophomore Olivia Narron could score. With two outs and two on base, Knights pitcher Alea White struck out redshirt sophomore Tate McClellan to end the game.
White (25-14) was the lone pitcher for the Knights, giving up seven hits and three earned runs. She also walked four and only struck out two batters in her second full game in two days.
ECU used multiple pitchers for the third time this series. Freshman Erin Poepping (13-14) was credited with her second loss of the weekend, pitching 5.0 innings. She gave up four earned runs on nine hits and four walks while striking out two. Redshirt junior Ashley Cruise pitched the sixth inning, giving up no hits and no runs with a walk and a strikeout.
The Knights scored early on, getting their first run of the game in the first inning. Junior Cassady Brewer was credited with the run, as Klarkowski singled to right field for a 1-0 Knights lead.
Redshirt senior Alex Mycek tied the game for the Pirates to start the second inning with a home run to left field, but the next three batters grounded out to leave the game at 1-1.
Mycek also added another bomb in the the sixth inning to cut UCF’s lead to two runs.
Who’s Next?
With the regular season concluded, the Knights will now look toward the AAC tournament. The Knights will first play the Memphis Tigers on Thursday at 4 p.m. in Tampa.
For more on the Knights, as they look to make a run in the postseason, follow Nick Santiago on Twitter at @NickSantiagoUCF.
