The UCF softball team returned to action on Wednesday as it played its second intra-squad scrimmage of the fall. The Black squad defeated the Gold, 12-2, in six innings at the UCF Softball Complex.

Pitching dominated early as sophomore Mackenzie Audas and senior Alex Hartshorn both registered quality starts for their respective sides. Audas was overpowering for the Gold squad as she did not allow a hit and struck out seven in three scoreless innings of work. Hartshorn earned the victory for the Black as she kept hitters off balance all morning as she also did not allow a hit or an earned run in four innings.

Offensively, freshman outfielder Mariah Garcia shined as she went 3-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored. Garcia has caught the eye of head coach Renee Luers-Gillispie in the early parts of fall camp

"Mariah has been putting a nice and smooth swing on the ball in camp so far," Luers-Gillispie said. "She's probably one of three players that I'm comfortable penciling into the batting order right now."

Senior Lauren Aldridge went 2-for-3 and scored a team-high four runs for the Black squad. Aldridge, who was used last season primarily as a pinch runner, also was a perfect 2-for-2 in stolen bases as she tries to stake her claim to one of the starting corner outfield spots.

Freshman pitcher Shelby Turnier allowed one unearned run in two relief innings of Hartshorn. Turnier showed that she's not just a pitcher as she went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI singles and two runs scored. Turnier, who has arguably the strongest throwing arm on the team, is the only Knights' pitcher that also hits.

UCF has its final intra-squad scrimmage on Friday at 9 a.m. at the UCF Softball Complex.