The Knights (39-13) fed off the Plant City native as she struck out 11 batters en route to her 21st win of the year. Audas was masterful as she dealt 110 pitches with 81 for strikes while issuing just two walks.

Only three Wildcats (26-26) reached base all game and no runners got beyond second. Audas retired the final 13 hitters of the game and struck out at least one batter in all seven innings. It was the 10th time this season that Audas has racked up double-digit strikeouts in a start.

The performance was the first no hitter thrown by the Knights’ pitching staff this year and the first for the program since Allison Kime on March 25, 2008.

Senior Natalie Land led the game off with a long home run to right-center to give the Audas all the cushion she would need. The long ball was Land’s seventh of the season and fourth to open a game. Land went 3-for-4 with three runs and two stolen bases to increase her batting average to a season-best .341. Land is on a five-game hitting streak and has recorded at least two hits in each of those five games.

The Knights plated insurance runs in the second, fourth and fifth innings. In the second, freshman Kahley hit an infield single and used her speed to force an errant throw into right field that allowed Land to score from second unearned. In the fourth, another Wildcats error, this time off the bat of senior Vanessa Perez, allowed Land to again score unearned to put the Knights up 3-0. Junior Alena Murgatroyd completed the Black and Gold’s scoring with an RBI single to left in the fifth.

The Knights will return to action for their last regular season series of the year on Saturday as they travel to Marshall for a 1 p.m. doubleheader. The series will conclude on Sunday at noon.

And minutes after the calm and cool standout pitcher authored a dazzling two-hit, 11-strikeout shutout in Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½’s historic 2-0 defeat of the No. 3 Gators, Audas uttered what might go down as the understatement of the season.

“This is kind of a big deal,” said Audas, who has evolved into arguably the best freshman pitcher in the country.

Freshman , Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½’s hottest hitter the past three weeks, doubled in two runs in the first inning and Audas did the rest as Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ (30-10) beat Florida (34-5) for the first time ever in Orlando. The Knights’ 10th straight victory this season was their third in school history against the Gators and their first since May 18, 2008, in the NCAA Tournament.

A crowd of 747 fans – the second-largest in school history – packed the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Softball Complex and was loud from the first pitch. The grounds crew also rolled up two outfield wind screens, allowing a couple hundred more fans to watch the game and add to the electric atmosphere.

“The crowd was amazing. It felt like a football game,” Sullivan said. “Words can’t describe the feeling of this. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

After blanking the third-ranked Gators, the surging Knights have bettered their chances of cracking the top 25 and getting back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010.

“It’s our first home win against Florida, and that’s big,” Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ head coach said. “Mac (Audas) had a great game, catcher Hayley (Barrow) did a great job calling the game, and we made the plays and got the hits that we needed. It was a one-hit difference in the game, but thankfully it was our turn after 10 years of playing them here.”

The unquestioned star of the night was Audas, the 5-foot-5 right-hander from Plant City who dominated a Florida program that never recruited her. Audas (16-5), who entered the game with the lowest ERA in the country for a freshman, tossed her eighth shutout of the season. Her 11-strikeout performance was the sixth time that she had a double-digit strikeout game.

“She’s had some ups and downs and we’ve talked about how it has to be one pitch at a time and she had to focus on each batter as a separate situation and go hard at them,” Luers-Gillispie said. “I told her that she will always have to tools to strike anybody out. She worked hard on focusing on one pitch at a time. And she didn’t have those ups and downs and stayed very steady.”

A true sign of Audas’ razor-sharp focus on Wednesday night was her ability to summon big pitches in key situations. Six Florida batters reached a full count against Audas, but she struck out three of them and none got hits. The two hits in the game were a line drive to center in the third inning and a bunt single in the sixth.

“In the first inning, it’s Florida and they’re ranked, and I was nervous,” Audas admitted. “I faced UCLA and Washington early in the year, but this was Florida. I was pretty nervous early, but I settled down. I knew I couldn’t give a team like this free bases. So I just kept trying to go right at them all night.”

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ finished with just three hits against Florida’s Hannah Rogers (20-3), but the biggest one of the night came in the first inning in a clutch situation. Sullivan doubled down the left-field line to score two runners and put the Knights up 2-0. Senior shortstop started the rally by beating out an infield hit and stealing second. Then, after walked, Sullivan stroked a fastball down the line that got all the way to the wall.

The clutch double was just the latest big hit for Sullivan, who almost single-handedly destroyed UTEP in a three-game sweep last weekend in West Texas. Sullivan had three home runs, two doubles and nine RBI last Friday in a double-header sweep for the Knights.

Wednesday night’s double will go down as one of the most important hits in school history.

“It was an inside pitch, and I had two strikes on me. I feel like that relaxed me. I just saw the ball and hit it,” said Sullivan, a Waynesboro, Miss., native who leads the team in home runs (five), doubles (nine) and RBI (29). “I knew if we got a head start on them that Mackenzie would take care of them. I knew if we got some runs she would come through and take care of business.”

With the Knights (25-10, 6-3 in Conference USA) clinging to a 4-3 lead, the Pirates (15-20, 3-6) had runners on second and third in the seventh inning with two outs. Pinch hitter Rebecca Lee hit a sharp ground ball deep into the hole at shortstop. Land moved to her right, made a diving, backhanded stop and threw to first to beat Lee by a half-step. The play prevented two Pirates runs from scoring, and Land’s teammates mobbed her in the infield.

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ will travel to UTEP for a Conference USA doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m. Friday and a single game at 1 pm. on Saturday. The series will feature the Knights’ top ranked conference pitching staff against a Miners’ offense that leads the conference with 44 home runs in 33 games.

The Black and Gold jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning Sunday. With a runner on third base, junior Lauren Aldridge pinch-ran at first after a Farrah Sullivan single. Aldridge then took off for second on the first pitch, and an errant throw into center field allowed the Knights to take a 1-0 lead.

Later in the inning, junior Alena Murgatroyd knocked in Aldridge from third with an RBI single into center. Murgatroyd, wearing a protective mask as she recovers from a broken nose, went 4-for-8 with a walk, a stolen base and three RBI in the series.

Land hit a two-out solo home run to deep left field in the sixth inning to give the Knights a 4-1 advantage. That run would prove to be the difference, as ECU scored twice in the top of the seventh before Land’s stellar defensive play ended the game.

Senior Ali Schmidt started for the second time in the series and earned her second win in as many days. Schmidt worked herself in and out of jams all afternoon as she scattered nine hits and three walks over 6 2/3 innings. She benefited from picking up early outs, as most of the Pirates’ hits came with two outs.

The sweep concluded a busy week for the Knights, who also defeated North Florida 3-0 on Wednesday. Mackenzie Audas, Alex Hartshorn, Blaire Kelley, Farrah Sullivan and 2011 graduate Abby McClain were announced as recipients of the Conference USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal, which honors student-athletes who have posted cumulative GPAs of at least 3.75.

Upcoming home games include a sold-out April 11 contest against in-state rival Florida. Season tickets are now $25 and are available online at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½Athletics.com and Ticketmaster.com or by calling the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Athletics Ticket Office at (407) 823-1000.

Confident after their comeback, the Knights (15-7) easily handled the Hoyas 5-0 in the second game to sweep the two-game series.

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ has now won 10 straight games heading into conference play, which begins with a home series this weekend against Tulsa. The Knights and Golden Hurricane will play a doubleheader at 1 p.m. Saturday and a single game at noon Sunday.

Down 2-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ rallied and scored two runs to defeat the Hoyas (8-11) 3-2. Freshman Farrah Sullivan (Waynesboro, Miss.) and senior Vanessa Perez (San Diego, Calif.) opened the inning with back-to-back singles. After an out, senior Tawny Swan (Gilbert, Ariz.) smoked a single through the right side that scored Sullivan from second. When the throw to plate went to the backstop, Perez scored from third.

Earlier in the game, Sullivan hit an RBI double in the fourth to cut the Knights’ deficit to one run. Sullivan was 3-for-6 with two RBI and a run scored in the doubleheader. She raised her season batting average to .294 and now has a team-leading 12 RBI.

Freshman Mackenzie Audas (Plant City, Fla.) struggled early, as she allowed two runs on three hits in the first inning. However, Audas settled in nicely and didn’t allow a hit or run through the next six innings en route to her seventh victory of the season. Audas is now 7-4 with a 1.58 ERA and a Conference USA-best 75 strikeouts in 80 innings.

Freshman Hayley Barrow (Miami, Fla.) made her season debut as a pinch hitter for the Black and Gold after missing the first 20 games with an injury. Barrow is the younger sister of former Knights four-year starter Hillary Barrow.

Senior Ali Schmidt (Cordova, Md.) improved to 5-1 on the season as she pitched her first career shutout. Schmidt struck out five and threw the third one-hitter of the season for the Knights. She now has a team-best 1.31 ERA in 11 appearances on the year.

Freshman Kahley Novak (Clermont, Fla.) went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored for the Knights. Novak, who began the year as the Knights’ leadoff hitter, has flourished since moving into the two spot in the lineup.

Junior Marissa Menendez (Tampa, Fla.) went 2-for-3 with two RBI. Menendez broke the game open in the fifth inning as she ripped a two-run triple down the right field line that scored Novak from third and junior Danielle Brewer (Apopka, Fla.) all the way from first. Like Sullivan, Menendez was also 3-for-6 during the doubleheader. Menendez leads the Knights with a .348 batting average.

The Knights have 18 home games remaining at the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Softball Complex. Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ fans can follow all of the action on Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ All-Access with live video and audio. Fans can also follow on the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½Athletics.com Gametracker as well as www.twitter.com/Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½_Softball.

 Friday, Game One – Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ 2, Ohio State 1

Freshman Mackenzie Audas (Plant City, Fla.) earned her first-career win in her first collegiate game after only allowing one earned run on six hits in seven innings to help the Knights earn a 2-1 victory over Ohio State (0-1) in their opening game of the Dot Richardson’s National Collegiate Softball Invitational.

The young hurler was dominant from the onset as she struck out the first batter she faced and five of the first eight she retired. Audas tallied nine strikeouts total and didn’t issue a single walk in the complete game performance as she improved to 1-0 on the season.

Senior Allie Jest (Stone Mountain, Ga.) provided the game-winning RBI in the fifth inning when she dropped a one out opposite-field single into left field. This base hit scored fellow senior Tawny Swan (Gilbert, Ariz.) who was on third base after ripping a triple deep into the right-center field gap.

The Buckeyes were able to get the tying run into scoring position in the bottom of the seventh after a single and a stolen base, but Audas saved her best for last and struck out Buckeyes left fielder Megan Coletta to end the game.

Friday, Game Two – Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ 9, Florida A&M 1 (5 innings)

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ used aggressive base running and timely hitting to defeat Florida A&M 9-1 in five rain-soaked innings in the second game of Friday’s double header at Dot Richardson’s National Collegiate Softball Invitational. The win gave the Knights their first 2-0 start since the 2004 season.

The Knights got five stolen bases from five different players and constantly put the Rattlers’ defense under pressure by taking extra bases at every opportunity. Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ is a perfect 7-7 in stolen base attempts through two games this season.

The black and gold jumped on FAMU early as Brewer roped a double to left field, advanced to third on senior Natalie Land’s (Mayo, Fla.) infield single, and scored on Menendez’s fielder’s choice to first base. Freshman Farrah Sullivan (Waynesboro, Miss.) then knocked in Land from second with an RBI single up the middle for her first hit of the season. Senior Vanessa Perez (San Diego, Calif.) finished the first inning scoring with a sacrifice fly to stake the Knights to a 3-0 first inning lead.

Senior transfer Ali Schmidt (Cordova, Md.), making her first Division I collegiate start, picked up her first career win after pitching five innings and allowing just three hits and one unearned run. Schmidt attacked hitters early and cruised through the first three innings before slightly struggling with wet conditions that made gripping the ball difficult. Schmidt allowed five base runners in the final two innings, but managed to escape without allowing any additional runs.

With rain bearing down on the field and a steady drizzle ready to turn into a downpour, the Knights quickly finished off the mercy rule victory in the fifth inning as Swan blasted a double into the right-centerfield gap to score Perez from second.

Saturday, Game One – Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ 10, Bethune-Cookman 4

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ slugged out 11 hits and hit three home runs as the bats surged against Bethune-Cookman. Freshman Farrah Sullivan (Waynesboro, Miss.) smashed a three-run home run in the top of the first inning and finished the game 3-4 with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored. Sullivan and the rest of the Knights carried the team to a dominant 10-4 victory over Bethune-Cookman (0-3) in their third game of the Dot Richardson’s National Collegiate Softball Invitational.

Sullivan had a tremendous weekend for the Knights as the young slugger hit .417 (5-12) and knocked in a team-leading six runs for the Knights in the four games. Sullivan is also leading the black and gold in slugging percentage as well as total bases. Perhaps most surprising, a recruited first baseman, Sullivan also made several strong defensive plays at third base, leading the Knights with nine infield assists in the weekend slate.

Junior transfer Alex Hartshorn (Tampa, Fla.) made her first start of the season and earned her first Division I victory after allowing three earned runs on four hits in four innings. Hartshorn kept the Wildcats limited on the bases by not allowing a single walk. Senior Ali Schmidt (Cordova, Md.) earned her first career save after pitching three scoreless innings in relief.

Saturday, Game Two – Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ 6, Chattanooga 2

Freshman standout Mackenzie Audas (Plant City, Fla.) was once again dominant in her second career start as the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ defeated Chattanooga 6-2 in their fourth and final game of Dot Richardson’s National Collegiate Softball Invitational. The win gave the Knights their second best start in school history, topped only by their 5-0 start in 2004.

Audas pitched her second complete game of the weekend and kept the Mocs both off balance and overmatched with her mix of risers and changeups. Audas struck out 10 batters in seven innings and did not allow a walk for the second consecutive game. The righty has an incredible 19-0 strikeout to walk ratio in her two starts for the Knights.

The Black and Gold will play 30 home games at the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Softball Complex, with season tickets for the 2012 season costing only $40. The Knights’ first home game is slated for Feb. 24 against Seton Hall. Tickets are available for purchase online at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½Athletics.com and Ticketmaster.com, or by calling the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Athletics Ticket Office at (407) Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½-1000.

The comeback win versus the Eagles improved the Knights’ record to 12-8 on the season and extended their win streak to a season-best seven games, which included five-straight during the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Tournament this weekend. The Black and Gold also improved to 3-0 in extra-inning affairs and it has won its last three contests in come-from-behind fashion.

“Coming back to win these games shows that we have a lot of fight,” junior Abby McClain (Waterloo, Iowa) said. “We are fighting for each other, fighting for the team, fighting for the coaches and fighting for the fans.”

Senior Ashleigh Cole (Pace, Fla.) also extended her impressive streak in the circle while earning the victory. The hurler has now tallied six wins in her last six appearances to improve to 9-4 on the year.

“This winning streak is great,” Cole said. “Whenever you have a winning streak going you just need to stay consistent and just keep pushing.”

Against Georgia Southern, Cole got in trouble early, allowing three runs in the first inning, but settled down to hold the Eagles scoreless through the next seven frames, while not allowing a hit in the final four. She finished the outing allowing only four hits to the visitors, while striking out three and walking one.

“When they scored those three runs right away, I knew that we had the hitting power to make it a close contest,” Cole said. “I never had a doubt that we wouldn’t come back and win that game, and that’s exactly what we did.”

Cole also scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning on Perez’s single to left field.

Three different Knights had two hits in the win, which included a 2-for-4 outing from sophomore Natalie Land (Mayo, Fla.), in which she tallied a double and two RBI.

McClain and Marissa Menendez (Tampa, Fla.) also contributed two-hit performances for the Black and Gold. McClain registered a double, scored a run and stole a base, while Menendez added a triple and a RBI.

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ plated its first run of the game in the third inning after Morgan Bullard (Columbia, S.C.) legged out a single to the shortstop and stole second to move into scoring position. After a lengthy at bat, Land won the battle at the plate and knocked in Bullard with a single to the third baseman.

Freshman Arielle Palafox (Lakewood, Calif.) was pegged by a pitch delivered by Georgia Southern starter Brianna Streetmon to lead off the fourth inning. Junior Ashley Schmitt (Tampa, Fla.) who replaced Palafox at first base as a pinch runner, then pedaled around the bases and scored the Knights’ second run of the contest on a triple to left field by Menendez. The triple for the rookie was the second of her career.

The fifth inning saw the Black and Gold even the contest at 3-3 following back-to-back doubles from McClain and Land.

Run production was hard to come by following the fifth, as both teams were held scoreless through the next two frames.

In the eighth, the international tiebreaker rule came into effect, with each team starting its half of the inning with a runner at second base. Cole and the Knights’ defense took care of business in the top of the frame, giving Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ a golden opportunity to win in the bottom.

With Cole starting at second base, an intentional walk allowed to Palafox put two runners on with nobody out. Menendez then laid down a bunt single to load the bases for the home team. The Eagles managed to get one out in the inning before Perez’s single just over the top of the third baseman’s head gave Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ its seventh-straight victory.

The Knights are back in action Tuesday when they host Maine in a 3 p.m. contest at the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Softball Complex.