UCF softball walks off Jax State in extras to open Tallahassee Regional

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UCF staged a seventh-inning rally on a dramatic opening day of the Tallahassee Regional and prevailed in extras against Conference USA champion Jacksonville State.

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Coco Jaimes had three hits, including the walk-off single in the eighth, as the second-seeded Knights (39-16-1) upended Jax State 2-1 at JoAnne Graf Field. Sierra Humphreys went 2 for 4 with a double and the decisive run scored.

Makenna Moore, CUSA's Pitcher and Freshman of the Year, held the Knights scoreless for 6⅔ innings, but back-to-back hits from Kendall Yarnell and Beth Damon extended the game.

Here are three takeaways from a wild turnaround and a sigh of relief for the Knights in the state capital.

UCF makes pitching change after 2 batters

Cindy Ball-Malone chose not to start UCF's ace, two-time All-Big 12 first-team pitcher Isabella Vega. Instead, freshman Reagan Vokoun got the call for just her seventh start of the season.

Vokoun, a freshman from Lincoln, Nebraska, plunked Jax State leadoff hitter Emma Elrod on her second pitch. She then issued a five-pitch walk to Morgan Nowakowski, prompting Ball-Malone to make a quick call to the bullpen.

Tori Payne escaped the jam, inducing a fielder's choice to short and a pair of infield popups to strand runners at the corners. However, the Wellington native served up a go-ahead home run to Makalyn Kyser to lead off the second, the senior catcher's 11th longball of the spring.

Ball-Malone saved Vega until the seventh, and she stranded runners in each of her two innings to give the Knights a chance for a comeback.

UCF comes up clutch after 6 innings of RISP struggles

Through the first six innings, UCF went 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position. It left the bases loaded in the fourth and could not plate Sierra Humphreys from third base in the sixth after her leadoff double.

But the Knights' fortunes changed in their last opportunity.

Yarnell, down to her final strike, pulled a two-out double inside the bag at third base. Ayala Durant checked in as a pinch runner and timed her departure off second perfectly when Damon singled into left to tie the game.

In the seventh, Humphreys worked her way aboard with a single deep in the hole on the left side of the infield. She stole second on a successfully overturned challenge and advanced to third on a sacrifice fly.

On Moore's 130th pitch of the afternoon, Jaimes slapped a 1-0 offering back through the middle to end the game and send the Knights into a frenzy behind the bag.

UCF, Stetson renew rivalry for spot in Tallahassee Regional final

UCF avoided an opening-day upset, unlike regional host and No. 9 national seed Florida State.

The Seminoles lost to Stetson for the first time since 1987, an 8-3 romp for the hard-hitting Hatters which included home runs by Logan Forman and Amber Chumley. UCF will renew its rivalry with Stetson at noon on May 15 for a spot in the region's championship.

UCF has won 23 of the 32 all-time meetings with Stetson, most recently a 5-3 victory on April 15. Lena Elkins held the Hatters in check for six innings, but Vega slammed the door for a save after they sprung for two runs in the seventh.

Aubrey Evans delivered a two-run single in the contest, Yarnell tacked on an RBI double and Samantha Rey had an RBI triple.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF Knights softball takeaways from NCAA Tournament win over Jax State

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