The UCF softball team lost to the Kansas Jayhawks 6-5 in the first round of the Big 12 Conference Tournament at Devon Park, according to a May 7 announcement.
The result means UCF will have to wait for its NCAA Tournament fate, which will be revealed during Sunday evening’s Selection Show. The game was significant as it marked another attempt by UCF to secure its second win in Big 12 Tournament history.
Head coach Cindy Ball-Malone said, “It’s unfortunate, they outplayed us. We started off strong, but then it looked like we were playing not to lose. That’s not our game. It felt like it sped up on us, and I’ll take the blame there. I need to be better at leading them in those moments. We just have to be better.”
UCF took an early lead with Beth Damon hitting her fifteenth home run of the season for a two-run advantage after redshirt sophomore pitcher Isabella Vega stranded a leadoff single in the top of the first inning. The Knights added two more runs in the second inning following a Kansas throwing error that allowed Ashleigh Griffin and Samantha Rey to score.
Kansas responded by scoring in each of the final five innings, including a two-run fourth inning that kept pressure on UCF. Izzy Mertes hit her sixteenth double of the season for UCF and later scored on a sacrifice fly from Griffin, giving UCF another brief lead before Kansas tied and then overtook them late in the game.
Ball-Malone said after the loss, “This late in the game, you can’t make some of the mistakes that we made. We just didn’t execute with the information that we had, and we need a better plan.”
UCF is now waiting for possible selection into further postseason play.
