UCF softball walks off Jax State in extras to open Tallahassee Regional
Coco Jaimes' third hit of the day was the game-winner for UCF in its NCAA Tournament opener against Jacksonville State.
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. 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 6ā 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.