Coach Tiffany Luers-Gillispie knows the Tulsa Golden Hurricane well. The UCF Knights have had back-and-forth battles with Tulsa for several years now and last year’s American Conference title came down to these two teams.
This series, this weekend was about UCF’s place in the pecking order in the conference and down the road.
These two teams had plenty of familiarity with each other. There was plenty of bad blood on the line.
And then there was a curveball. On this final day with UCF already have shut down Tulsa’s behemoth 6.3-runs-per-game offense in the first two days, Gillispie opted not to pitch her ace, Shelby Turnier.
Instead it was senior day-honoree Mackenzie Huhn followed by Manami Calixto and Jamie Ujvari to try to sweep the Golden Hurricane and put them off balance.
And as each Tulsa power hitter came up — Julia Hollingsworth, Maggie Withee and Shelby Estocado — they each went down.
For the third straight day, Tulsa managed only one run — an odd swing and infield hit from Jodi Edmiston in the first inning — and could not solve both UCF’s pitching and defense in a 3-1 UCF win on Sunday at the UCF Softball Complex. The Knights got out of every jam, giving up just four hits the rest of the way and never multiple hits in any inning. The Golden Hurricane got only two more runners in scoring position and the Knights got the only runner to home tagged out in the fifth inning.
The Knights array of pitchers kept the Hurricane off balance and kept that offense in check. That switch proved to be crucial in holding down that offense once again.
“We knew that we had to kind of set a statement realizing that we’re back on track,” Gillispie said as UCF improved to 27-14 and 4-0 in the American. “Our pitching staff did a great job. We knew that we had to have these games. At least be able to take two of the three and it’s fortunate we took three of the three.”
In each game, Tulsa scored just one run, showing how big UCF’s pitching staff was all weekend. The Knights threw out their ace Shelby Turnier, but got contributions from just about everyone on their pitching staff.
On Sunday, Manami Calixto carried the weight of most of the innings, giving up three hits in 3.2 innings pitched. With the bases loaded in the fifth, Jamie Ujvari checked in and retired the side with a fly out to right field on a diving catch from Willow Kalinen.
Ujvari gave up only one hit in the final 2.1 innings to seal the victory and earn her fifth save, setting a single season record for saves for UCF (elite pitchers usually pitch all seven innings, a status Turnier certainly occupies).
“Our pitching staff is very strong right now,” Ujvari said. “We are keeping ball games to 1-0, 2-0 ball games. We like to work ahead and work our stuff and play around with the batters. We focus really hard on location and trusting our locations. We have full confidence in our offense so it brings a lot of pressure off the defense because they do a great job out there as well.”
With UCF’s pitching dealing from the circle all weekend, the offense was able to methodically wither away Tulsa’s pitching and defense.
The Knights are not going to be confused with an offensive juggernaut — just 3.8 runs per game, nearly half the runs Tulsa averages — but they can get around the bases and get on a roll quickly. When that happens the Knights are able to advance runners and get on base.
UCF evened the score in the first inning with Courtney Rotton advancing to third on a single after her own two-out single. She scored on a passed ball.
Rotton’s work was not done. She hit a sacrifice fly in the third inning to bring Willo Kalinen home and then blasted a home run over the left field wall in the fifth inning. Rotton had a hand in all three of UCF’s runs.
“It’s very important because especially now it is important that we win and we get ahead on teams,” Rotton said. “They are number two in the conference. For us to get on them and put some pressure on them, it means a lot.”
The Knights swept Tulsa for the first time since 2008 in a weekend series. There have been some big battles between these two teams in the past, including last year’s American Conference Tournament Final.
In the battle for conference pecking order, this statement matters.
The season has not been easy for the Knights. The tough non-conference schedule staggered the program back some. There was definitely a loss of some confidence as the Knights fell out of the polls and somewhat out of the national picture.
This weekend had UCF saying they are still nationally relevant and still the team to beat in the American Conference.
It is also a statement the Knights are playing at its best.
“The sweep was huge for us because they are a great program,” Ujvari said. “They come out hard against teams. We knew it was going to be a battle. Coming out here and playing strong and playing our game, that’s what we trust is playing our game. It worked out for the best of us this weekend.”
[…] A bloop hit to shallow right field brought in junior Willow Kalinen who dove to the turf and picked the ball before it hit the ground. That ended the inning and any chance for Tulsa to crack relief pitcher Jamie Ujvari or the Knights’ defense. It was one of several defensive plays that highlighted that series sweep that Sunday. […]