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UCF valiantly fought off elimination twice Saturday, but could not avoid that fate when matched up with No. 6 national seed Texas.
Reese Atwood blasted a pair of two-run homers, Leighann Goode went deep for the second day in a row and Teagan Kavan scattered six hits in a complete-game shutout as the host Longhorns knocked out the Knights 9-0 to win the Austin Regional.
Texas (49-10) advances to the NCAA Super Regionals for the sixth straight season, its first as a member of the SEC after leaving the Big 12. The Longhorns will host No. 11 Clemson in a best-of-three series next weekend for a spot in the Women's College World Series.
Kavan surpassed 200 strikeous for the season, and senior Mia Scott notched her 300th career hit during a 3-for-4 day with a bloop double in the fifth inning.
UCF, which extended its record run of consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances to five, finishes with a 35-24-1 record. The Knights went 2 for 14 with runners on base, stranding seven, and made three errors in the field.
Redshirt freshman pitcher Isabella Vega allowed eight hits and four earned runs while striking out three in 4⅓ innings.
Here are three takeaways from Texas' dominant regional-clinching win over UCF.
Texas entered the NCAA Tournament as one of the top slugging teams in the country and proceeded to pad those stats with 35 runs on 43 hits across its three wins.
Goode opened the scoring in the second inning, jumping on a first-pitch riseball and driving it over the center-field wall. Atwood, who flew out in her first two at-bats, turned on a high riser in the fifth to double the Texas lead to 4-0 and chase Vega from the game.
Atwood took Kaitlyn Felton deep for a no-doubter in the seventh, the Longhorns' ninth homer of the regional.
The Longhorns smoked six home runs during a sizzling Saturday afternoon blowout of Michigan. For the year, Texas has 82 longballs — compared to UCF's 46 — with Atwood contributing 20 by herself.
Among UCF's biggest bright spots of the tournament, freshman Coco Jaimes recorded her eighth hit to lead off the bottom of the third inning.
Jaimes went 3 for 3 in Friday's loss to Michigan. The California native followed up with her first career home run against Eastern Illinois, and a 3-for-4 outing with two RBIs in the rematch versus Michigan.
The Knights mounted their best chance of the afternoon in the fifth following a Jaimes groundout. Madison Simon and Aubrey Evans followed with consecutive singles to set the table for the heart of the UCF order. But Kavan struck out Sierra Humphreys on three straight dropballs, and retired Stormy Kotzelnick on a fielder's choice to second base.
Gazing into the future is a risk in the age of the transfer portal, but the Knights could field a very strong team for the 2026 season if their projected returners stay in the fold.
Sunday's lineup featured two juniors, two sophomores and three freshmen, plus redshirt freshman pitching ace Vega — UCF's lone All-Big 12 first-team selection. Evans and Humphreys, the left side of the Knights' infield, made the second team while Izzy Mertes and Beth Damon joined Vega on the all-freshman team.
Ball-Malone added a strong 2025 recruiting class, headlined by left-handed pitcher/outfielder Hildie Dempsey (Jefferson, Wisc.) and infielder Kendall Trimm (Moody, Ala.), the latter of whom is the No. 59 overall player in the nation and a four-star recruit per On3 Sports.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF-Texas softball score today: How Knights' season ended in Austin
Continue reading...
Reese Atwood blasted a pair of two-run homers, Leighann Goode went deep for the second day in a row and Teagan Kavan scattered six hits in a complete-game shutout as the host Longhorns knocked out the Knights 9-0 to win the Austin Regional.
Texas (49-10) advances to the NCAA Super Regionals for the sixth straight season, its first as a member of the SEC after leaving the Big 12. The Longhorns will host No. 11 Clemson in a best-of-three series next weekend for a spot in the Women's College World Series.
Kavan surpassed 200 strikeous for the season, and senior Mia Scott notched her 300th career hit during a 3-for-4 day with a bloop double in the fifth inning.
UCF, which extended its record run of consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances to five, finishes with a 35-24-1 record. The Knights went 2 for 14 with runners on base, stranding seven, and made three errors in the field.
Redshirt freshman pitcher Isabella Vega allowed eight hits and four earned runs while striking out three in 4⅓ innings.
Here are three takeaways from Texas' dominant regional-clinching win over UCF.
Longballs prove the difference for Longhorns in Austin Regional
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Texas entered the NCAA Tournament as one of the top slugging teams in the country and proceeded to pad those stats with 35 runs on 43 hits across its three wins.
Goode opened the scoring in the second inning, jumping on a first-pitch riseball and driving it over the center-field wall. Atwood, who flew out in her first two at-bats, turned on a high riser in the fifth to double the Texas lead to 4-0 and chase Vega from the game.
Atwood took Kaitlyn Felton deep for a no-doubter in the seventh, the Longhorns' ninth homer of the regional.
The Longhorns smoked six home runs during a sizzling Saturday afternoon blowout of Michigan. For the year, Texas has 82 longballs — compared to UCF's 46 — with Atwood contributing 20 by herself.
Coco Jaimes concludes breakout weekend with 8th hit
Among UCF's biggest bright spots of the tournament, freshman Coco Jaimes recorded her eighth hit to lead off the bottom of the third inning.
Jaimes went 3 for 3 in Friday's loss to Michigan. The California native followed up with her first career home run against Eastern Illinois, and a 3-for-4 outing with two RBIs in the rematch versus Michigan.
The Knights mounted their best chance of the afternoon in the fifth following a Jaimes groundout. Madison Simon and Aubrey Evans followed with consecutive singles to set the table for the heart of the UCF order. But Kavan struck out Sierra Humphreys on three straight dropballs, and retired Stormy Kotzelnick on a fielder's choice to second base.
Pending transfer portal, UCF could have strong team for 2026
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Gazing into the future is a risk in the age of the transfer portal, but the Knights could field a very strong team for the 2026 season if their projected returners stay in the fold.
Sunday's lineup featured two juniors, two sophomores and three freshmen, plus redshirt freshman pitching ace Vega — UCF's lone All-Big 12 first-team selection. Evans and Humphreys, the left side of the Knights' infield, made the second team while Izzy Mertes and Beth Damon joined Vega on the all-freshman team.
Ball-Malone added a strong 2025 recruiting class, headlined by left-handed pitcher/outfielder Hildie Dempsey (Jefferson, Wisc.) and infielder Kendall Trimm (Moody, Ala.), the latter of whom is the No. 59 overall player in the nation and a four-star recruit per On3 Sports.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF-Texas softball score today: How Knights' season ended in Austin
Continue reading...
