Shannon Doherty’s walk-off homer in bottom of 8th gave the UCF Knights softball team a thrilling 7-6 win over the No. 12 Georgia Bulldogs in front of an opening night record crowd of 1,093.

Here my three takeaways from a memorable Opening Knight:

1. What an ATMOSPHERE! What a GAME! What a KNIGHT!

It was opening night, but the atmosphere felt like the postseason. 1,093 fans is the largest crowd ever on opening night for UCF Softball, and they saw a classic as both teams went back and forth. It goes down as the most memorable opening night game in the 20+ years of UCF Softball.

Here are the top five highest-attended UCF Softball Home Games:

1. April 4, 2018 vs. #4 Florida — 1,236
2. March 3, 2019 vs. #1 Florida State — 1,161
3. Thursday night vs. #12 Georgia — 1,093
4. March 31, 2010 vs. #6 Florida — 1,091
5. April 6, 2016 vs. #2 Florida — 1,064

2. Kama Woodall was awesome

One of the questions going into season was who would be the Knights’ #2 pitcher behind Gianna Mancha. In comes senior transfer Kama Woodall, who threw 3.2 shutout innings in relief of Mancha, holding a talented Georgia offense without a hit.

Woodall’s experienced arm could prove to be a key as she has experience as a starter and reliever.

3. UCF’s offense can beat you in many different ways

UCF’s offense can beat you with speed. The Knights were aggressive all night on the bases, putting Georgia’s defense on their heels. UCF stole four bases and scored runs on balls that did not even get out of the infield.

They can also beat you with patience, driving in runs by being disciplined and taking pitches. The Knights drew 10 walks and scored multiple times via bases loaded walks.

Oh by the way, UCF can beat you with one swing, too.