The UNF softball team dropped a midweek doubleheader to the UCF Knights on a Tuesday evening in Orlando. 

A seven-run inning by UCF was the key difference in the first game and the Ospreys lost 11-4. North Florida’s offense faltered in game two, losing 9-0 in mercy-rule fashion. 

Game One

Hadlee Reichert opened the game with a double for the Ospreys. UNF managed to load the bases after Allison Benning and Savannah Channell walked but failed to bring home the game’s first run. 

Central Florida started the scoring with a two-run home run. The Knights had a 2-0 lead after the first inning. 

However, the Ospreys answered back in the second inning. Two walks and a single loaded the bases for UNF. A pitch hit Shannon Glover, scoring the first run for UNF, and a Logan Jackson RBI groundout scored the second. 

North Florida held UCF scoreless in the second despite two Knight hits, which gave the Ospreys a chance to take the lead, and they did. A Channell walk and Kelsey Vogel single set up an RBI sacrifice fly by Kirsten Caravaca, giving UNF the 3-2 lead in the third inning. 

However, Central Florida took this personally. In the same inning, the Knights opened with five straight hits, culminating in a seven-run inning for UCF, and UNF trailed 9-3. The Ospreys’ lead didn’t last long and failed to come back for the rest of the game. 

North Florida’s remaining four hits weren’t enough. The Ospreys added only one more run and lost the opening game 11-4. 

Game Two 

Game two didn’t fare much better for the Birds of Clay. UNF got its only hit in the first inning when Allison Benning singled. The scoring started early and often for UCF, with the Knights nabbing four runs off of UNF pitcher Cameron Ponich in the first inning. 

Poinch held UCF scoreless for the next three innings, an impressive feat for the freshman. But the big inning got to the Ospreys again, this time with a run-rule. UCF scored five runs in the fifth inning, all because of three walks, leading to a walk-off grand slam, cementing the 9-0 mercy rule. 

North Florida drops to 23-10 on the season while still holding second place in the ASUN standings. 

On Saturday, the Ospreys play a home game for the first time in 20 days, hosting Kennesaw State at the nest. The doubleheader starts at 2 p.m. 

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