Pitching propels Knights on road

Softball edges Southern Miss on the road, takes weekend series
Mackenzie Audas pitched two complete-game shutouts on the road as the UCF Knights (21-10) took two-of-three games from the Southern Miss Golden Eagles.

Audas was on point Sunday, helping the Knights pick up the 3-0 victory in the rubber match of the series. 
With the two wins over the weeknd, the Knights improved to 3-3 in Conference USA-play.

On Saturday the two teams split a doubleheader, with UCF taking the first contest, 6-0, and dropping the second, 9-5.

UCF could not capitalize on an early 5-0 lead in Game Two of the series. Southern Miss would mount a furious rally, scoring nine unanswered runs. The Knights shot themselves in the foot with four errors that proved costly, leading to three unearned runs.

Audas pitched well to lead UCF to a shutout in Game One, striking out six and improving to 9-5 on the year. The Knights scored all six of their runs in the fifth inning, including two successful squeeze bunts.

UCF now returns home to host Kent State on Wednesday at 7 p.m.


Track & field opens up outdoor season at home
The UCF Knights women’s track & field team got the outdoor season started on the right foot Saturday, experiencing quite a bit of success during the UCF Black and Gold Challenge.

The Knights saw eight personal records broken by athletes within the program and piled up six first-place finishes over the course of the day.

“Today was a good starting point for the season, and we’re going to build off of this meet,” UCF head coach Caryl Smith Gilbert said in a release.

UCF overwhelmed the competition in a few events, including the 100 meters, where the Knights comprised the top three finishes, and the 200 meters, where UCF took home three of the top five finishes.

The Knights will host the UCF Invitational this coming Friday and Saturday. Saturday’s action will also be recognized as the program’s Senior Day.

Men’s tennis victorious at home over Winthrop
The UCF Knights men’s tennis team was able to power its way past visiting Winthrop (7-8) on Saturday, taking a 5-2 decision in the afternoon match.

The Knights (6-9) opened by taking the doubles point, followed by successful efforts in four of the six singles matches.

UCF’s Jorge Blasco, Erik Brunskog, Mitch Thams and Joe Delinks all won their respective singles matches.

“We competed hard after playing our third match in three days. We need to gain some confidence going into the next few weeks of the season,” UCF head coach Bobby Cashman said in a release.

The Knights will have a week off before they host Nicholls State on Saturday.

Men’s soccer picks up
transfer, George signs with MLS club
The UCF Knights men’s soccer team added another playmaker to its roster on Wednesday when head coach Bryan Cunningham announced that Deshorn Brown will join the program this fall. Brown was formerly at the University of Mobile, during which time the forward was a two-time NAIA All-America First Team selection.

“We are really looking forward to having Deshorn join our team,” Cunningham said in a release. “He is an exceptional forward who scored frequently on the NAIA level. We are confident that his goal-scoring ability will transfer over to UCF.”
While the Knights added a player, a former UCF player made a significant step in his professional career as Kevan George signed a contract with the Columbus Crew of the MLS. George was a second-round pick by the Crew in January and impressed the organization during the team’s training camp. During his time with the Knights, George was a three-time All-Conference USA First Team honoree.