UCF broke its NCAA softball tournament curse in the state capital, stunning host Florida State to advance to super regionals for the second time in school history.
Izzy Mertes belted a go-ahead, two-run homer, and freshman Tori Payne pitched six innings to deliver the Knights’ first tournament victory over the Seminoles in eight all-time tries with a 4-2 final at JoAnne Graf Field.
UCF (41-17-1) will face UCLA or South Carolina next weekend in supers. The Knights dropped an earlier chance to eliminate Florida State (52-10) as Jazzy Francik outdueled All-Big 12 ace Isabella Vega in a 2-1 game.
“All week, we just talked about being resilient,” senior shortstop Aubrey Evans said. “That’s a great ballclub. We’ve been here so many years, and to finally come out on top, I just give it all to my teammates. We put in so much time and effort this whole season, and specifically this past week.”
Beth Damon also went deep for the Knights, her team-leading 16th bomb of the campaign. Payne worked around five walks and four hits to allow just a single run.
“We played this for us, for sure, but this is for every Knight that’s ever worn a jersey,” said UCF coach Cindy Ball-Malone, who previously guided the team to supers in 2022. “We broke through. We pushed through. We disrupted the norm.”
Here are three takeaways from UCF’s landmark Tallahassee Regional triumph.
UCF swings momentum with successful defensive challenge
Florida State appeared to claim the lead with a bases-clearing single from Shelby McKenzie. Her line drive glanced the glove of UCF reliever Lena Elkins and went into center field to plate two runs, and a third scored on a high throw to the plate.
But the Knights challenged the call, believing freshman Anna Hinde left second base early. Upon video review, Hinde’s foot touched no part of the bag before Elkins delivered the pitch. The call was overturned, Hinde was ruled out and UCF retained a 2-1 advantage.
Ball-Malone credited redshirt sophomore outfielder Taylor Kittleman with spotting the premature departure from the dugout.
Everyone has assignments in the dugout; everyone is a starter in the game in some way,” Ball-Malone said. “She saw it, we went with it and she was 100% convicted in what she saw. … What an incredible moment for her.”
Seminoles coach Lonni Alameda said Hinde was “a little emotional,” thinking she let the team down. However, she praised her squad’s ability to navigate the moment and remain focused.
“We knew it was going to be left hooks and right hooks. We knew they have some power, and they were going to swing it,” Alameda said. “There were going to be momentum shifts the whole time. We just had to stay present.”
Tori Payne re-enters in tough spot, comes up clutch
Ball-Malone turned to Payne, a freshman from Wellington, to make her eighth start of the season. She avoided early trouble, inducing an inning-ending double play from Hinde after Jaysoni Beachum doubled and Ashtyn Danley walked.
Payne sat down five of the Seminoles’ six hitters but was removed in the third with two runners on and two outs. Two batters later, Hinde left base early to spare the Knights three runs.
Isa Torres tied the score an inning later, lacing a single into right field off left-hander Reagan Vokoun. Payne re-entered the circle, pitched around Beachum but forced Danley to fly out and strand the bases loaded.
Vega kept warm in the bullpen in the game’s latter stages, but Payne found a groove with clean fifth and sixth innings. Florida State brought the go-ahead run to the dish in the seventh, but Hayley Griggs flew out in foul ground near the right-field line for the final out.
“I pitched like we had nothing left to lose,” Payne said. “I’m willing to give everything and more for this team. They’re our ride-or-dies, and I’m willing to do what I can to help us push forward.”
Timely defensive substitution helps UCF protect 2-run lead
Prior to the seventh, Ball-Malone did make one change to her lineup — and it proved to be prophetic.
Kalista Birkenstock, a sophomore who joined the Knights from Florida Gulf Coast via the transfer portal, took over in left field as a defensive substitution.
With one out, and Beachum on second, Danley sliced a sinking liner the opposite way. Birkenstock darted to her right and sprawled to make the catch, likely saving extra bases at the very minimum.
“We knew at the end of the game that we wanted to put the best defense out there,” Ball-Malone said. “If you’ve got a defense like that, your pitchers can play with a lot of freedom.”
Birkenstock has recorded 13 putouts in as many chances this season, adding seven stolen bases off the UCF bench.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF softball stuns Florida State, advances to super regionals for 2nd time
Reporting by Chris Boyle, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
