UCF’s softball and baseball teams have had their struggles at the plate throughout the season. It has held both back in its own way.
For one day, UCF saw the bats come alive on both ends of the campus athletic facilities. Really at the same time.
For the second day, the Knights’ bats came alive at Jay Bergman Field. Sam Tolleson hit a grand slam to deliver a win over first-place Cincinnati for a win Friday.
Everyone else got in on the fun Saturday to secure a series win — the first since April 15-17 series against USF at home. The Knights scored 11 times in the final two innings to break a 1-1 tie and win 12-1 over Cincinnati.
Errors and throwing mistakes helped UCF reach and advance through the bases in the seventh inning.
Matt Diorio drove in three runs on a bases-loaded double in the eighth inning. He scored on Austin Griffin’s home run to complete the scoring for the Knights. That started a 10-hitter, seven-run two-out rally in the eighth inning to put the game completely away.
“Offensively, we are certainly having a lot more confidence at the plate and are building upon that,” head coach Terry Rooneytold UCFKnights.com. “We knew that we had great players and hitters. These guys have done a terrific job of staying the course and working hard with coach Klosty [Ryan Klosterman], coach [Brandon] Romans and coach [Andy] Chris caden. Everyone felt like it was only a matter of time till we broke out.”
The bats have certainly struggled for UCF throughout the conference season. It has been something of a mystery that UCF’s offense has been so inconsistent.
This weekend explosion at the plate has been a long time coming. And it helped backup a strong performance from Juan Pimentel. Pimentel eight innings giving up just five hits and one run.
The softball team certainly seemed ready to match across campus.
The Knights recovered from their struggles to string together hits Friday to overwhelm the East Carolina Pirates on Saturday.
The Knights scored two runs in four separate innings to take an 8-0 run-rule victory in six innings, tallying 10 hits on the afternoon.
Jessica Ujvari went 3 for 4 with five RBIs and Samantha McCloskey added a home run to put the game away. It was the exact remedy the Knights needed following a disappointing result Friday in the final series opener of the season.
The Knights close their season out Sunday at noon at the UCF Softball Complex. The baseball team plays Cincinnati in its series finale at 1 p.m. at Jay Bergman Field.
