UCF Knights put the pressure on to defeat Alabama Crimson Tide

The UCF Knights knew what an incredible opportunity stood before them as the No. 5 Alabama Crimson Tide came to the UCF Softball Complex on Friday. There were admittedly nerves.

Those nerves quickly calmed down and then the hits and preparation took over.

Again and again and again.

Shelby Turnier gave up a walk to the opening batter and a bobbled play at third base from Courtney Rotton seemed to put UCF behind already, letting the opportunity to score a major program victory at home go.

Then things calmed down. Turnier struck out the next three batters, winning big battles with some of Alabama’s best hitters. And the momentum was rolling.

The emotion was boiling and the team had faced down an early Alabama challenge and was ready to move on.

The Knights put up two runs in the first inning, added two more in the second and then another three in the fourth, taking advantage of three errors. The Knights were the ones putting the pressure on the Crimson Tide all game and pored it on.

The part of UCF competing with a team of Alabama’s caliber was not surprising, just that 8-1 score line.

“I thought the game would be a lot closer run wise,” Turnier said. “We were super, super intense. I’m just really glad we came out on top. It was a true team effort.”

Turnier was solid throughout, giving up just three hits and one run while striking out nine batters in the game. She settled down after that rough start and closed the door on the Crimson Tide. They had no chance.

UCF’s defense was strong throughout the game after Rotton’s error — something she made up for five-fold — making great play after great play. That was the theme throughout the day as the Knights defeated the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-1 in the first game of the day.

That was merely the appetizer for the game against No. 5 Alabama.

This was the first matchup of top-20 teams at the UCF Softball Complex and began a big run for UCF against ranked opponents. This is the kind of pressure the Knights will have to get used to and the kind of pressure they thrived in.

Rotton overcame that pressure, making big hit after big hit. She went 4 for 4 with five RBIs. She brought home two in the second inning with a single with two outs that salvaged an inning that saw the bases loaded with just one out. Those are innings a team has to convert.

She brought in two more with a double in the three-run fourth inning and she put the icing on top with a single to score Jessica Ujvari after a double.

“I wasn’t trying to do too much with it,” Rotton said. “I was just trying to get a base hit and do whatever I could do to get the runs.”

Once again, it was that kind of hitting from everyone up and down the lineup to score. That is a big step up for an offense that struggled at times last year putting teams away.

Putting a team away when facing such a powerful pitcher like Sydney Littlejohn was even more impressive. The Knights hit here for eight runs and 11 hits, striking out only three times. Littlejohn posted a 1.71 ERA last year and gave up 2.7 hits per appearance.

UCF’s preparation paid off against this specific pitcher at the beginning of the season and the team just took over.

It became the Crimson Tide’s turn to make mistakes with three errors in the fourth inning as the Knights blew the game open with three runs.

And that scoreline after four innings was still shocking to see. Seeing the home team up 7-0 on such a powerful opponent.

“I knew our players would be ready to play them,” coach Tiffany Leurs-Gillispie said. “The entire season we set this up to be able to have good competition and give them a chance to play these kind of teams at home. Did we ever think this was going to be the final score? No. We just knew we were going to come out ready.”

This was a big stage for the Knights for sure. And at every turn UCF stepped up to the plate. The top of the order specifically just got on base and kept hitting and hitting.

And with Turnier on the mound and dealing it confidently, the Knights were not going to be stopped. This early in the season, there are probably not any major statements. Next weekend when UCF heads to California to play in the Mary Nutter Classic, there will be plenty of opportunity to make statements.

This was a big one though. A big statement that yes, maybe UCF does indeed belong and that this season could turn into something special.

“We celebrated out there tonight,” Turnier said. “But we know the next game is a new game. We’re not going to sit on we beat Alabama, we beat the No. 5 team in the country for the whole season. There is much more to the season. Coach has been telling us over and over again in the offseason, it’s not about how you start the season, it’s how you finish it. And we want to finish it deep into the postseason.”