TEMPE – On the back of some early offense, Central Florida (32-11-1, 10-7-1 Big 12) held off Arizona State (31-13, 5-9 Big 12) in the series finale at Alberta B. Farrington Stadium, 4-3.
The Knights took advantage of their opportunities in the first few innings, putting runners on base in the first and second innings against ASU senior right-handed pitcher Kenzie Brown.
Two infield base hits, along with a single to left from UCF sophomore catcher Beth Damon, loaded up the bases in the first frame. The Knights took a 1-0 lead two at-bats later after Brown walked a batter home.
Then, after Arizona State struggled to handle two hard-hit ground balls in the infield, UCF had ducks on the pond again, but this time with no outs. In the next at bat, sophomore utility player Izzy Mertes hit a ball to left field that tipped the glove of freshman utility player JazMarie Roberts, resulting in an error, and allowing two more Knights to score. Later, Damon provided more offensive firepower for UCF, hitting a sacrifice fly to make the score 4-0.
Eventually, ASU’s ace managed to stop the bleeding and keep her team within striking distance.
“I really thought Kenzie (Brown) pitched a beautiful game,” Bartlett said. “UCF is very good. We faced a tough team.”
Brown recorded 10 strikeouts through seven innings on 129 pitches, with only two of her runs going down as earned.
“What we know about Kenz (Brown) is she’s going to roll out and give us everything she’s got every single day, and we’ve got to defend behind her,” Bartlett said. “She’s a warrior and a competitor.”
With a runner on first in the bottom of the fourth, junior catcher Samantha Swan sparked some life for the offense, belting a two-run home run over the left field fence. Swan later hit another solo home run in the bottom of the sixth, bringing the Maroon and Gold within one with a score of 4-3.
The junior catcher has been on fire as of late, recording two or more hits in her last eight games.
“If you kind of watch how she trends into the end of the conference season, postseason, she’s a tough hit,” Bartlett said. “So this would be typical for her. She is really seeing the ball well right now.”
However, the rest of the bats were unable to come to life for Arizona State.
“Sams on, (but) we just couldn’t come up for her offensively in some crucial moments,” Bartlett said.
All-American sophomore right-handed arm Isabella Vega pitched a complete game for the Knights, stifling the Sun Devils’ lineup, only surrendering the two home runs from Swan.
“I mean that’s one of the best rise balls in the country,” Bartlett said. “I mean that kid is seventy percent rise, a little bit of curve, and 28% change.”
Coach Bartlett’s squad must now get set for a quick turnaround. Up next, it will head across town to take on No. 25 Grand Canyon University on Tuesday at 7 p.m. MST at GCU Softball Stadium.
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