Aubrey Evans, UCF Softball embracing underdog role at UCLA: ‘Anything is possible’
Aubrey Evans has taken more than one quiet bus ride back from Tallahassee.
The UCF senior shortstop has been part of three trips to Florida State in the last four seasons, and most of them ended with the Knights leaving town disappointed.
This one was different.
UCF stunned No. 9 overall seed Florida State 4-2 last Sunday to win the Tallahassee Regional and advance to the second NCAA Super Regional in program history. The Knights now head to Los Angeles for a best-of-three series against No. 8 seed UCLA beginning Friday night at Easton Stadium.
For Evans, an Apopka native and one of the leaders of Cindy Ball-Malone’s program, the moment carried a little extra weight.
“That’s a great team, great organization, great program over there,” Evans said of Florida State. “Like you said, I’ve been there three out of four years, and we’ve come back with not-so-fun bus rides.
“So to be able to come back with a win, winning a regional, going to Supers, it just means so much.”
UCF’s celebration in Tallahassee was the product of a long climb.
The Knights went 3-1 in the regional, beating Jacksonville State, Stetson and Florida State in the winner-take-all final. Freshman Tori Payne delivered six innings of one-run ball in the clincher, while Beth Damon and Izzy Mertes each hit two-run home runs.
Evans had her own big weekend, hitting .400 with a grand slam, five RBI and an .800 slugging percentage in the regional. She enters the Super Regional already sitting among UCF’s all-time leaders in several categories, including home runs, RBI, total bases, walks and doubles.
But Evans pointed to the full team effort, the emotion of the final out and the buy-in that carried UCF to this point.
“This team, the resiliency, we’ve talked about it all year, just the buy-in,” Evans said. “For Zoe to catch that final out, and just the emotion and excitement, people were crying. It was just so much fun to be a part of.
“We worked so hard all year, from August all the way to now, so it was super rewarding.”
‘I knew right from the get-go’
Evans said she did not need to wait until May to realize UCF had a team capable of doing something special. She saw it much earlier.
“Honestly, in the fall,” Evans said. “When we got here, we went through some stuff right off the gate, and just the buy-in, the resiliency, the toughness, the grit, the personality that we have on this team is just unmatched.
“I knew right from the get-go this was going to be something special, and I think we’re seeing that right now.”
That belief has helped carry UCF into one of the biggest weekends in program history.
The Knights are 41-17-1 and have reached the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight season under Ball-Malone. They are also trying to become the first team in program history to reach the Women’s College World Series.
Standing in the way is one of the sport’s historic powers.
UCLA is 50-8, the winningest program in college softball history and owner of 12 NCAA championships. The Bruins have also been one of the most explosive offensive teams in NCAA history this season, leading the nation with 193 home runs and averaging 10.83 runs per game.
Megan Grant has hit an NCAA single-season record 40 home runs. Jordan Woolery has added 34 more.
Evans knows the challenge. She also knows UCF cannot let the matchup become bigger than the game itself.
“That’s a good program, a lot of rich history there, but we’re just focusing on ourselves,” Evans said. “We know we’re a great program. We have nothing to lose.
“If we go out there and play Knights softball the way we know how to, staying within ourselves, being competitive, being resilient, being gritty and just doing our assignment, really good things are going to happen.”
‘I’d put us up against the world’
UCF has never beaten UCLA in program history. The Bruins are 8-0 all-time against the Knights, and this weekend will mark the first NCAA Tournament meeting between the two programs.
Evans is not dismissing the names in the other dugout.
She is just not letting them define UCF’s mindset.
“What a great opportunity,” Evans said. “We can’t look too much into all that stuff. She’s a great player. Again, great players all around on that program.
“But if we just stick to our game plan and know that we’re also great players ourselves, and just the belief that we have in one another, we can do anything. I’d put us up against the world, and I truly believe that.”
That has become a theme around UCF this week.
The Knights already went into Tallahassee and eliminated a national seed. They ended a 16-game losing streak against Florida State in the process. They have also shown all season they can win away from Orlando, entering the Super Regional with wins on the road or at neutral sites against Florida State, LSU, Oklahoma State and Arizona State.
Evans said the message inside UCF’s clubhouse is simple.
“The talk is anything can happen, and it’s so true,” Evans said. “When we truly believe in that and buy into each other and what we’re about, anything can happen, and anything is possible.”
An All-American dugout
One of the biggest moments in Sunday’s regional final came from UCF’s dugout.
Evans credited Taylor Kittleman and Kayla Alexandre for staying locked into their roles and helping alert the staff to a runner leaving early at second base. UCF challenged the play, won the call and seized momentum.
Evans said the moment was a reminder that postseason games can turn on contributions that never show up in a box score.
“There are no small things,” Evans said. “For Taylor and Kayla to be so locked in and bought into their role is just huge. It goes to show that even if you’re not on the field, you have a job to be done, and they executed that.
“They’ve been doing it all year, and we finally got to see it play out.”
Evans said the players on the field did not immediately know what was happening. Once the replay went up on the scoreboard, everything changed.
“When she said we were challenging the runner at second, and then to see it on the scoreboard, we were like, ‘Let’s go,’” Evans said. “Whoever did that, let’s freaking go.
“It just changed our momentum throughout the whole game. An All-American dugout can get you as far as you want to go.”
Moments later, UCF pushed forward. Mertes delivered the two-run homer that put the Knights ahead for good.
“That’s when our momentum shifted, I truly believe,” Evans said. “When we saw our dugout get that call, it just flipped everyone’s mind. Like, anything can happen. We’re in this. Let’s go take it right now.
“We have the momentum. Let’s not ride this momentum. Let’s go push it. And we did.”
A hometown Knight
Evans’ UCF story began close to home.
The Apopka native said she grew up playing baseball and did not fully transition into softball until her freshman year of high school. That made her later than many players in the recruiting process, but it also made UCF’s interest mean even more.
“I actually played baseball my whole life all the way up until freshman year in high school, so I was really late to the softball world,” Evans said. “Obviously, I knew about UCF because I’m from Apopka. But as soon as I made that transition in high school, I was just wanting to get an opportunity from anyone.”
When Ball-Malone called during Evans’ sophomore year, everything changed.
“For Coach Bear to call me my sophomore year just made my eyes light up,” Evans said. “I’m very much a homebody. I love my family. I’m a big family person.
“To be able to have the opportunity to play 45 minutes from my hometown, I was like, ‘Lord, this is where you have placed me.’ As soon as I stepped on this campus, I knew this was right where I needed to be.”
Evans has since become one of the faces of the program.
She was named second-team All-Big 12 this season and has played a major role in UCF reaching its second Super Regional. Now, in her senior season, she is two wins away from helping take the Knights somewhere they have never been.
“It means everything,” Evans said. “I couldn’t do it without the support of Knight Nation, my family, my teammates, my coaches. The belief that everyone close to me has in me has really pushed me forward.
“Just to have the ability and the opportunity that the Lord has blessed me with to be here, it has exceeded all of my expectations.”
‘We’re not done yet’
Evans said Ball-Malone’s belief in her and the rest of the team has been a difference-maker.
“It’s huge,” Evans said. “When you have your leader believe in you, that makes me want to go out and compete even more because my head coach believes in me, my assistant coaches believe in me and the people around me believe in me.
“You want it that much more for those people.”
Now comes the next step.
UCF will walk into Easton Stadium against a UCLA team with the history, the seed, the home crowd and one of the most powerful lineups the sport has ever seen. Evans understands all of that. She also believes UCF has earned the right to be there.
“We’ve worked so hard from the beginning of the year,” Evans said. “Her belief, her buy-in to us and this program and what she has set out to do has been awesome. I love every single person in this program.
“And we’re not done yet.”
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