Feb. 21, 2005
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ORLANDO, Fla - After a brief weekend at home, the UCF softball team hits the road again. The Golden Knights battle in-state foe Florida A&M in a mid-week doubleheader. UCF started the season with their first 11 games away from home, and will not return to the UCF Softball Complex until March 1st against St. Bonaventure.
This is the second of three times that UCF hook up with Florida A&M this season. The Rattlers took the first meeting, 6-3 on February 4th at the Clearwater Invitational. UCF currently holds a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series.
The Golden Knights come in with a 10-6 mark, and have won seven of their last nine games. The ladies of summer went 4-1 last weekend at the UCF Fastpitch Classic outscoring the opposition, 29-9. Stephanie Best paces the offense with a .362 batting average, and leads the Golden Knights with 17 hits, including four home runs and 10 RBI's. Amber Lamb and Crystle Krafft are coming off amazing weekends. Lamb hit a scorching .500 with seven hits, and scored six runs while Krafft drove in 9 RBI's on five doubles and triple. For her efforts, Krafft was named A-Sun Player of the Week yesterday by the league office. Lindsay Enders anchores the pitching staff, and has totaled a 5-3 record with a 2.07 ERA in eight starts. Opponents are only hitting .182 against Enders. Ashley Baker and Jennifer Tomasetti also picked up wins over the weekend throwing dual complete games. Both have picked up a save apiece coming from the bullpen.
The Rattlers are 9-9, and have lost three straight games. The most recent, a 8-0 loss to Stanford at the USF Invitational in Tampa.
Four players are hitting over .300 for the Rattlers, but Ruby Nugent has the team lead with 14 RBI's. Nugent may only be hitting .262 on the season, but is a key cog in the FAMU line-up.
Florida A&M is 5-3 this season against the Atlantic Sun, including a 6-3 victory over UCF at the Clearwater Invitational. The Rattlers have also swept Mercer, won two of three against Jacksonville, and were swept by Troy.
Danielle Brown and Destiny Gordon have throw a majority of the innings on the circle. Gordon picked up the victory against the Golden Knights throwing a complete game. The duo comes into the doubleheader at 7-7.
UCF and FAMU will open the Golden Panther Invitational in Miami later this week on Friday afternoon. The Golden Knights will also match-up with Connecticut and #24 Florida International.