UH softball handed UCF its first loss in AAC play with a 9-8 victory over the Knights in Sunday’s series finale. | Courtesy of UH athletics
UH softball went 1-2 in a competitive series against No. 18 UCF over the weekend at Cougar Softball Stadium.
The team held senior days on Saturday and Sunday celebrating the upperclassmen.
Here’s a closer look at each game:
Friday
The Cougars lost their series opener against UCF 4-1.
The game was quite the pitchers’ duel.
Senior right-handed pitcher Kenna Wilkey led the way retiring 15 Knights in a row from the final two outs in the second inning through the first out of the seventh.
UCF’s Gianna Macha silenced the UH bats, allowing just one hit in the game’s first seven innings.
With a 0-0 score after seven innings, the game went into extra innings.
UCF finally got to Wilkey as Kennedy Searcy hit a grand slam creating a 4-0 gap.
Junior first baseman Britaney Shaw fought back with a home run bringing the score to 4-1, but two outs later the team dropped the series opener to UCF.
Saturday
The Knights opened up the scoring 1-0 in the top of the third in their second game of the series.
UH responded in the bottom of the fourth with a double from graduate second baseman Becca Schulte who brought in senior outfielder Aspen Howie to tie the game.
UCF widened the score inch by inch starting with singular runs in the fifth and sixth and ending with two runs in the seventh.
The Cougars did not respond, falling 5-1.
Sunday
Howie started the series finale off with a solo home run in the bottom of the first to give UH the early lead.
The Knights answered with two home runs in the third to go up 4-1. The team then followed up with three insurance runs in the top of the fourth.
The Cougars didn’t let this hold them back as they narrowed the gap 7-4, scoring a run on an error accompanied with a two-run single by senior shortstop Rock Benavides in the bottom of the fourth.
UH matched scores 7-7 in the bottom of the fifth with Howie scoring a run on a wild pitch followed by a two-run bomb from Schulte.
UCF’s home run in the top of the sixth gave the Knights the lead 8-7 but the Cougars fought back, capitalizing on a UCF error to score two runs and take a 9-8 lead.
Graduate senior right-handed pitcher Hannah Todd ensured the Knights couldn’t score in the top of the seventh as UH handed UCF its first loss of the season in American Athletic Conference play.
