Walk-off homer lifts UCF past Utah into quarters of Big 12 tourney

For six captivating innings on Wednesday night, the UCF softball team appeared poised to sail smoothly into the Big 12 Softball Championship quarterfinals.

Pitcher Isabella Vegas barely broke a sweat while throwing six scoreless innings against Utah, and it appeared that the redshirt freshman was on her way to an easy five-run victory.

However, a 5-run rally in the top of the seventh helped the Utes tie the game at 5.

But in the bottom of the inning, Ashleigh Griffin launched a 1-2 pitch over the fence at Devon Park for a 2-run home run that lifted UCF to a thrilling 7-5 win. It was the third straight game in which the Knights won dramatically, twice needing seventh-inning rallies to knock off Kansas last weekend.

“I was just going up there to pass the bat to the next person,” Griffin said of her homer. “I know my teammates are always going to have my back, and I know the pitchers were dealing all game, so it was our time to have their back in that moment.”

The win helped No. 7-seed UCF (33-21-1, 12-12 Big 12) earn its first-ever victory in the conference tournament. The Knights joined the Big 12 in 2023 but failed to make it out of the first round of last season’s tourney.

UCF will face No. 2 seed Arizona on Thursday (6 p.m., ESPN+).

“I’m super proud of how our team fought at the end there,” said UCF coach Cindy Ball-Malone. “We played really well, especially scoring often throughout the game, but we’ve got to be better at closing in the seventh inning.”

The Knights loaded the bases against Utah pitcher Hailey Maestretti in the bottom of the first inning with two outs. Catcher Beth Damon was hit by a pitch on a 3-2 count, bringing Stormy Kotzelnick home and giving UCF a 1-0 lead.

Vega (1-0), named to the All-Big 12 First Team earlier in the day, cruised through the early innings. She didn’t allow a hit through the first five innings, striking two and walking one. It wasn’t until the sixth inning that the Utes managed a pair of hits.

UCF tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the third after Maestretti walked Griffin and designated hitter Izzy Mertes to start the inning.

Reliever Brooklyn Carreon entered the game but walked left-fielder Samantha Ray to load the bases before walking second-baseman Coco Jaimes to drive in an unearned run. Center-fielder Madison Simon drove in two more runs with a single to left field to make it 4-0.

Sierra Humphreys was hit by a pitch to load the bases, setting up Kotzelnick, who lined a ball into left field that was first ruled a hit but later changed to an out after an official review, ending the inning.

UCF extended its lead to 5-0 after a Kotzelnick bloop single drove in Simon in the bottom of the fifth.

Utah’s rally began when third baseman Rio Mendez and designated hitter Kennedy Proctor led off with back-to-back hits. Ball-Malone lifted Vega, inserting Kaitlyn Felton in relief. Felton struck out shortstop Jolie Mayfield before giving up a single to catcher Kendall Lundberg to load the bases. Second baseman Haliee White followed up with an RBI single, forcing Ball-Malone to lift the reliever and re-insert Vega.

Vega walked in another run as the Utes sliced the lead to 5-2 with one out. After a popout, a fielding error by shortstop Aubrey Evans allowed another run to score. Kaylah Nelson lined a 2-2 pitch into left field to score two runs to tie the game.

Evans led off the bottom of the seventh with a single, setting up Griffin’s heroics.

“This team has been put in many situations throughout the season with the schedule that we face, the opponents that we face, and then it’s the Big 12. It’s tough, so we’re more prepared now than they’ve ever been,” Ball-Malone said. “They’re getting better every single game we play together, and they’re starting to play more seasoned.”

No. 10-seeded Utah (13-39, 5-19 Big 12) entered this week’s tournament, losing three straight and 16 of its last 17 games.

The Knights are projected to earn an at-large bid in this year’s NCAA Softball Tournament based on the team’s strong RPI (29) and strength of schedule (22). The 64-team field will be announced on Sunday at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

Please find me on X, Bluesky or Instagram @osmattmurschel. Email: moc.lenitnesodnalro@lehcsrumm. Sign up for the Sentinel’s Knights Weekly newsletter for a roundup of all our UCF coverage.