The No. 25 UCF Knights softball team continued their winning ways, upping the level of competition and finding a second pitcher in the process.
The Knights went 3-1 on the weekend at the UCF Spring Fling with wins over Utah, Florida Gulf Coast and Indiana State before falling in the finale to Purdue. The Utes were a NCAA Softball Tournament team last year and a big win for a Knights team that struggled with some elite competition in California about a month ago.
Since that trip out West, UCF has just burned off wins at the UCF Softball Complex. The Knights won 15 straight games to assert some dominance.
No win was more impressive than the 4-3 victory over Utah on Friday.
Cassady Brewer hit a walkoff single in the seventh inning to deliver the victory with Shelby Turnier struggling somewhat in the circle. The star pitcher went only four innings, giving up three hits and two runs.
What made it all the better was the Utes walked power hitters Jessica Ujvari and Samantha McCloskey to get to Brewer. She made Utah pay for the decision, lacing a hit over the centerfielder’s head to deliver the win.
“(Utah) shifted me a lot,” Brewer told UCFKnights.com “The centerfielder was playing in the left centerfield gap. I knew they weren’t going to come in on me. I knew if I could get it over her head, we would win, and it was a great position to be in for my teammates.”
That is the kind of hitting the Knights have become well known for this year. They do not have a ton of power but can hit around the lineup and get runners on base.
That continued as the Knights picked up five runs in the fifth inning to secure a 5-3 win over Florida Gulf Coast.
The winning continued into Saturday with a 10-2 run-rule victory over Indiana State. The team’s patience was key in that game as it drew a team-record 12 walks.
UCF though could not get a weekend sweep, falling to Purdue 3-2 in the finale Saturday night.
UCF managed only four hits against Purdue — two each from Linnea Goodman and Courtney Rotton — and Jamie Ujvari and Shelby Turnier split the pitching duties in the game. The Knights gave up only three hits in the game themselves.
Those came at a key time in the fourth inning as Purdue put up two runs and then added security in the sixth. The Knights scored twice in the seventh but could not plate that game-tying run.
UCF’s long win streak should establish it some confidence as conference season begins.
