With the ESPNU cameras rolling and the series on the line in Tampa this weekend, the two best teams in the American Athletic Conference battled.
The Knights have needed some statement wins to bolster their resume after struggling with a difficult schedule at the beginning of the year. They can count two over USF in Tampa this weekend. Unfortunately weather and a loss Saturday conspired to take away the biggest prize.
UCF capped off a weekend series win with 5-3 win over USF on a ninth-inning home run from Samantha McCloskey. But the lone loss Saturday clinched the American Athletic Conference regular season title for USF thanks to two games getting snowed out in Connecticut earlier this year for UCF. The Knights’ reign as the American Athletic Conference champions is over after two years.
Revenge will have to come at the conference tournament in Tulsa in a few weeks’ time.
In UCF’s two wins though, the bats came alive in late innings to overwhelm USF. McCloskey had the big blast to clinch the series in extra innings Sunday and the Knights scored nine runs in the seventh inning for a 9-0 win Friday. The Knights got their offense going.
“The hitters were having good at-bats, seeing good pitches, knowing what they were looking for,” head coach Renee Luers-Gillispie said following Friday’s win. “Hitting is contagious. (Jessica) gets that hit and everybody wants to be part of it.”
This is what can happen when the offense gets rolling as Jessica Ujvari got things going with a two-run home run to start the offensive onslaught.
This being a battle of the two best teams in the American, there were ups and downs. Shelby Turnier was somewhat inconsistent, pitching the shutout Friday before turning around and struggling in the 4-1 loss Saturday. She came on in relief Sunday to secure the victory.
UCF remains a dangerous team and showed off plenty of power. McCloskey hit her home run, Ujvari had one and Jasmine Acevedo hit her first career home run in Saturday’s loss. The Knights have not been a team reliant on power all year and so having and showing that attack is a good sign for the team.
The only disappointing thing is UCF lost the American through no fault of its own. An early conference-season series with UConn was virtually washed away by snow giving USF extra games — and wins — to take a win percentage advantage over UCF. The Knights won the only game they played that weekend for good measure.
UCF this year has done all it can within the American Conference to win the title. The Knights have not lost a series all season in American Conference play.
They get back to work with a mid-week game with Stetson before finishing American Conference play at home against East Carolina.
