DeLand, Fla. -- Demi Meza went 3-for-3 with a single, double, and a home run, but Stetson (22-11) fell 9-2 to 17th-ranked UCF in front of a standing room only crowd Wednesday night at Patricia Wilson Field.
Brittany Solis hit a pair of home runs and recorded six RBI to lead the Knights (37-6).
Two UCF pitchers combined for 15 strikeouts in the circle while limiting Stetson to just five hits.
"I thought we played a good team, and we didn't swing the bats very well," Stetson head coach Frank Griffin said. "I feel like we have a lot of kids swinging too much with their upper body and not using their lower half enough. It is showing at the plate."
The Hatters also committed two errors defensively, which led to four unearned runs.
"Our defense let us down, which is unusual, but it happens," Griffin said. "It was just one of those nights."
Meza doubled in the first inning, walked in the third, and walloped a home run down the left field line in the bottom of the fifth to put Stetson on the board. It was Meza's 11th home run of the season and the 35th of her career.
In the bottom of the seventh, Meza drove in Kelsey Waters with a single to center to plate the Hatters' second run. The Hatter senior now has driven in 38 runs on the season.
Jessica Griffin and Amanda Grimaldo recorded the other two hits for the Hatters.
UCF entered the contest with an NCAA-best 0.88 team ERA.
"I feel the more we see good pitching, the better we are going be," Frank Griffin said. "We saw good pitching tonight, and that is going to help us this weekend. We are also going to see good pitching this weekend, and that is going to help us the following week. Hopefully it all comes together at the end."
Stetson will visit Atlantic Sun leader USC Upstate for a three-game series this weekend in Spartanburg, S.C. Saturday's doubleheader will begin at 1 p.m. and be broadcast live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app for mobile devices.
Notes: Wednesday's attendance was a season-high 750 ... The Hatters have now hit 36 home runs this season ... Demi Meza is the 17th player in A-Sun history to hit 35 career home runs.
