ORLANDO – The 2023 TaxAct Clearwater Invitational has released its schedule ahead of hosting one of college softball's most prestigious tournaments in mid-February. The UCF Softball team will play five games in three days during its second ever trip to the tournament. All five contests will be televised on the ESPN family of networks.
The Knights will have a double header against Michigan and Texas A&M on Feb. 17 followed by another double dip against No. 12 Duke and No. 17 Alabama on Feb. 18. They wrap up the tournament against No. 19 Mississippi State on Feb. 19. All five of UCF's opponents at the event made last year's NCAA Tournament with Duke and Mississippi State advancing to super regionals just as the Knights did in 2022.
"Our group is looking forward to playing in the ultimate college softball atmosphere that the Clearwater Invitational provides," said head coach Cindy Ball-Malone. "The best competition, the big crowds, the high pressure situations and the best preparation for what is expected from our team at the end of the year. We are honored to receive the invite once again and play in our home state. Can't wait to see Knight Nation show up and represent in Clearwater this February."
FULL CLEARWATERINVITATIONAL SCHEDULE
Feb. 17 | Michigan | 3:00 p.m.
The Black and Gold will open the tournament with a rematch against Michigan, a team the Knights faced three times in 2022. UCF was bested by the Wolverines in at last year's Clearwater Invitational by a score of 6-0 in the second game of the event. The Knights flipped the script at the NCAA Orlando Regional, rallying from behind 2-1 and down to their final strike in the seventh inning to winning 3-2 in 11 to advance to the regional final. The Black and Gold kept the momentum going into the following matchup, posting a three spot in the first inning on their way to beating Michigan again, this time by a score of 9-4 to punch UCF's first ticket to super regionals in program history.
Michigan finished its season by receiving votes in the final release of the NFCA rankings. The Wolverines will be under the direction of a new head coach after 38 years of the legendary Carol Hutchins at the helm. Bonnie Tholl has taken over the reigns of the program after being the associate head coach under Hutchins for 29 years.
Michigan leads the all-time series over UCF by a count of 8-3, but its been the Knights who have taken three of the last four matchups, with the only loss in that span at last year's Clearwater Invitational.
Feb. 17 | Texas A&M | 7:00 p.m.
The Knights will play their first of three SEC opponents at the tournament in the evening of day one, facing Texas A&M for the second time in program history. The Aggies reached the final game of the NCAA Norman Regional but were downed by the eventual national champion Oklahoma by a score of 20-0 in five innings. Texas A&M finished the season with a record of 31-28, including a 6-18 record in SEC play. The Aggies have a new look this season, bringing in former Arizona State head coach Trisha Ford along with six transfers to add to the roster. Ford was the 2018 and 2022 Pac-12 Coach of the Year and steered the Sun Devils to a 43-11 record with an NCAA Super Regional Berth last season.
UCF's only meeting with Texas A&M was a 10-4 loss back on Feb. 19, 2016.
Feb. 18 | No. 12 Duke | 10:00 a.m.
The Knights will start day two with a morning matchup against Duke, the first of two teams the Black and Gold will face that made the super regionals in last season's NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils were edged by Florida State in the ACC Tournament semifinals by a score of 8-6, but still ended up earning hosting rights for an NCAA regional. The Durham Regional saw Duke shutout UMBC and Liberty on their way to the regional final. No. 19 Georgia gave the Blue Devils a run for their money, beating them 5-3 in the first game of the regional final. Duke rebounded and beat the Bulldogs 13-5 in six innings to advance to the program's first super regional. They collided with No. 5 UCLA in the supers and were swept in two games. Duke finished the season at No. 12 in the NFCA's final poll and wrapped up the year with a 44-11 record.
The Knights are 1-1 all-time against the Blue Devils, splitting a pair of games on Feb. 8-9 in Orlando in 2020. UCF earned a 5-2 win before dropping the next contest 3-2.
Feb. 18 | No. 17 Alabama | 2:30 p.m.
UCF will face a Crimson Tide team that was upset in their own regional at the NCAA Tournament. After posting a brilliant campaign, Alabama entered the tournament as the No. 6 national seed and ranked No. 7 in the NFCA poll. They blanked Chattanooga 3-0 in the first matchup of the Tuscaloosa Regional before falling to Stanford 6-0. Alabama bounced back in the elimination bracket, beating Chattanooga again and beating Stanford to force a deciding second game in the regional final. The Cardinal got the best of Alabama again, ending the Crimson Tide's season with a record of 44-13.
The Black and Gold have faced Alabama six times in program history and have a 2-4 record against them. UCF's last win against the Crimson Tide came during opening weekend in 2016 when the Knights upset No. 5 Alabama 8-1. The Black and Gold were ranked No. 17 heading into that matchup.
Feb. 19. | No. 19 Mississippi State | 8:00 p.m.
The Bulldogs entered the 2022 postseason unranked in the NFCA poll, but that didn't stop them from making some noise. Mississippi State's journey in the SEC Tournament was a roller coaster, beating LSU 7-4 in nine innings in their first game before exiting the next day via a 1-0 loss to Tennessee in 13 innings. The Bulldogs were placed in the NCAA Tallahassee Regional and dropped the first contest against South Florida. With their backs against the wall, Mississippi State fought their way to the regional final, beating Howard 6-3 and South Florida 6-0. The Bulldogs stunned No. 2 nationally seeded Florida State in game one with a 5-0 win, followed by a 4-3 victory later in the day. The Bulldogs got to host the ensuing super regional, hosting unranked Arizona. The Wildcats ended up sweeping Mississippi State at home to punch their ticket to the Women's College World Series. The Bulldogs finished the year with a 37-27 record.
The Knights and Bulldogs have only ever matched up once, with No. 25 Mississippi State earning an 11-3 victory back on Feb. 16, 2019.
UCF AT CLEARWATER IN 2022
The Knights went 2-4 in their six games played in at last year's Clearwater Invite. After dropping its first two contests to Wisconsin and No. 19 Michigan, UCF rebounded by mounting a comeback against Texas Tech and winning 7-3 in eight innings. The Black and Gold's second victory of the event was another comeback effort it what may have been the most thrilling game of the weekend. UCF matched up with No. 11 Texas and ended up scoring in every inning but the first, eventually winning a back-and-forth contest 15-10.
ABOUT THE CLEARWATER INVITE
Fifteen of the 16 teams invited to last year's event made the NCAA Tournament, with six reaching the super regionals and four making it to the Women's College World Series. The full field of 16 teams in 2023 includes UCF, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Duke, Florida State, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, South Florida, UCLA and Virginia Tech. The Knights, along with Florida State, Michigan, Oklahoma State, South Florida and UCLA, are making their return to the event after being a part of the 2022 field. The other 10 teams will be making their debut at the Invitational come February 2023.
TICKETS
Tickets for the 2023 TaxAct Clearwater Invitational will go on sale on Dec.12.
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