{"id":661,"date":"2026-05-14T23:34:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T23:34:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=661"},"modified":"2026-05-14T23:34:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T23:34:16","slug":"tallahassee-regional-offers-a-shot-at-redemption-for-ucf-softball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=661","title":{"rendered":"Tallahassee Regional offers a shot at redemption for UCF softball"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>UCF softball is making its sixth straight appearance in the NCAA tournament and its third postseason trip to Florida State\u2019s JoAnne Graf Field in the past four seasons.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=659\">Orangewood Christian tops Neumann to reach FHSAA 1A state baseball final<\/a><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s been a struggle for the Knights, who haven\u2019t advanced past the Tallahassee Regional in the previous four trips.<\/p>\n<p>UCF is 6-8 all-time at the regional site, including an 0-6 mark against host FSU.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re a great program. They have a great environment, but I think we\u2019re ready,\u201d said senior infielder Aubrey Evans.<\/p>\n<p>The 6th-seeded Knights (38-16-1) will host Jacksonville State (45-14) on Friday (2:30 p.m., ESPN+), with the winner set to face the winner between No. 9 FSU (49-8) and Stetson (36-20), who play earlier in the day (Noon, ESPNU) as part of the double-elimination tournament.<\/p>\n<p>With a possible showdown with the Seminoles on deck, UCF is making sure not to overlook the Gamecocks, who captured the Conference USA championship.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe game we\u2019re playing is the most important game,\u201d said UCF junior infielder Sierra Humphreys, who leads the team with 56 RBIs. \u201cWe can\u2019t look past that. I think if everybody\u2019s on their A game and we come out every single day, like we\u2019re supposed to be there, we\u2019ll come out on top.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>UCF enters the tournament ranked 33rd in earned run average (3.06) and 40th in batting average (.325), while JSU ranks 49th in ERA (3.34) and 86th in batting average (.307).<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<p>UCF remains focused on forcing turnovers: \u2018That\u2019s not negotiable. We gotta get that ball out\u2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"MiW8CnAJDO\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"282\" loading=\"lazy\" marginheight=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" scrolling=\"no\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/www.orlandosentinel.com\/2026\/05\/12\/ucf-knights-defense-focused-on-forcing-takeaways\/embed\/#?secret=QQw8QeLcP0#?secret=MiW8CnAJDO\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u201cUCF remains focused on forcing turnovers: \u2018That\u2019s not negotiable. We gotta get that ball out\u2019\u201d \u2014 Orlando Sentinel\" width=\"500\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have a strong regional, which just speaks so highly to our game and the parity in it,\u201d said longtime UCF coach Cindy Ball-Malone. \u201cI loved our response from our team when they saw our name up there. They wanted that regional.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=657\">Supreme Court preserves access to widely used abortion pill, while lawsuit plays out<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Ball-Malone believes her team enters this weekend with a chip on their shoulder.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Last season, UCF reached the Austin Regional finals, only to lose to eventual National Champion Texas, 9-0. The Knights have advanced to a Super Regional just once (2022) in the program\u2019s history.<\/p>\n<p>UCF is also coming off a disappointing first-round loss in the Big 12 Tournament last week, losing to No. 5 Kansas, 6-5.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve just got to learn from the Big 12,\u201d said Evans, who is batting .324 with 10 home runs and 36 RBIs. \u201cIt\u2019s in the past. So we\u2019re 0-0, no stats to our name. It\u2019s a whole new season. We just need the right mindset. We can\u2019t look past Jacksonville State either on Friday, it\u2019s another good program.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Evans is one of 11 upperclassmen on a roster that includes eight seniors and three juniors. Many of those players have been around the program for a while and understand the importance of this weekend, particularly with a possible matchup against Florida State.<\/p>\n<p>The Knights have been outscored by the Seminoles, 22-3.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve talked a lot about this team and what we can do and what we can accomplish. \u2026 I\u2019m really excited to be back at FSU, because I think we have some unfinished business,\u201d said Evans.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m so proud of them and the footprint that they\u2019re leaving here at UCF,\u201d Ball-Malone said of the seniors. \u201cThey\u2019re not done yet and we still have a lot of work to do, but it\u2019s something that they set out to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>SCHEDULE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Friday<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Game 1<\/strong> \u2013 Noon: FSU vs. Stetson (ESPNU)<br \/>\n<strong>Game 2<\/strong> \u2013 2:30 p.m.: UCF vs. Jacksonville State (ESPN+)<br \/>\n<strong>Saturday<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Game 3<\/strong> \u2013 Noon: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2<br \/>\n<strong>Game 4<\/strong> \u2013 2:30 p.m.: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2<br \/>\n<strong>Game 5<\/strong> \u2013 5:00 p.m.: Winner of Game 4 vs. Loser of Game 3<br \/>\n<strong>Sunday<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Game 6<\/strong> \u2013 Noon: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5<br \/>\n<strong>Game 7*<\/strong> \u2013 2:30 p.m.: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5<br \/>\n<em>*(If necessary)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Please find me on X, Bluesky or Instagram @osmattmurschel. Email: mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com. Sign up for the Sentinel\u2019s Knights Weekly newsletter for a roundup of all our UCF coverage.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=655\">Owen Sullivan, Jaden Taylor-Irons, Tre Kelly shine in spring football openers<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Knights, who face Jacksonville State on Friday, hope to advance to the Super Regional for the first time since 2022.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":660,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college-sports","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Tallahassee Regional offers a shot at redemption for UCF softball - 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