Feb. 24, 2005
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ORLANDO, Fla. - After last weekend at home, the UCF softball team hits the road again for the Golden Panther Invitational in Miami hosted by Florida International University. This is the fourth of seven tournaments this season that the Golden Knights will participate in. 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.
Series Notes
This is the final of four meetings between UCF and Florida A&M this season. The Rattlers took the first meeting, 6-3 on February 4th at the Clearwater Invitational. The two teams split a doubleheader last Tuesday at FAMU. UCF currently holds a 3-2 advantage in the all-time series. This weekend will mark the first time that the Golden Knights will play Florida International and Connecticut.
Scouting UCF
The Golden Knights come in with a 11-7 mark, and have won eight of their last 11 games. The ladies of summer went 4-1 last weekend at the UCF Fastpitch Classic outscoring the opposition, 29-9 before splitting a mid-week doubleheader against FAMU. UCF is 9-5 in tournament play this season. Stephanie Best paces the offense with a .389 batting average, and leads the Golden Knights with 21 hits, including five home runs and 15 RBI's. Amber Lamb and Crystle Krafft are coming off amazing weekends at the UCF Fastpitch Classic. 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. Lindsay Enders anchors the pitching staff, and has totaled a 5-4 record with a 1.98 ERA in nine starts. Opponents are only hitting .172 Enders.
Scouting the Opposition
The Rattlers are 10-10, and have lost four of their last five games. UCF and FAMU just split a doubleheader in Tallahassee on Tuesday where UCF won the opening game, 14-9 before falling in the nightcap, 5-3. The Rattlers knocked off the Knights, 6-3 at the Clearwater Invitational back on Feb. 4.
Four players are hitting over .300 for the Rattlers, but Ruby Nugent has the team lead with 15 RBI's. Nugent may only be batting .255 on the season, but is a key cog at the top of the FAMU line-up.
Alicia Strafford is hitting .455 with five hits and five RBI's against UCF pitching this season.
Florida A&M is 7-4 this season against the Atlantic Sun. The Rattlers have swept Mercer, won two of three against Jacksonville along with UCF, and were swept by Troy.
Danielle Brown and Destiny Gordon have thrown a majority of the innings in the circle. The duo comes into the doubleheader at 7-9 for the season.
Florida International sports a No. 20 ranking, and a 12-3 mark coming into the weekend.
The Golden Panthers are coming off a rain shortened weekend at the Campbell/Cartier Classic hosted by San Diego State University.
FIU dropped a 2-0 decision to host SDSU before upending No. 19 Oregon State, 5-2.
Amanda Nealer has thrown just over half of the innings pitched this season in the circle. She is 7-2 with a 0.68 ERA this season, and already has compiled three complete game shutouts.
On offense, Deomni Murray is the only regular starting hitting over .300, but all of her hits have been singles. Jennifer Powell and Brook Ruiz top the RBI list at 10 and eight, respectively. There is not a lot of power in the FIU bats as the Golden Panthers have only cranked two homers this season.
This weekend is the start of the 2005 softball season for Connecticut. The Huskies went 23-23 last season, and were 6-12 in the Big East.
UConn only lost two letterwiners from last season's squad, but one of those was leading hitter Maggie Arbogast, who hit .340 and drove in a team-high 24 RBI's.
The entire pitching staff returns headlined by Jessica Gurney who was 15-12 with a 2.37 ERA a season ago.
UCF returns home for two mid-week doubleheaders. The Golden Knights match-up with St. Bonaventure on Tuesday before a showdown with No.8/9 Michigan on Wednesday. Both doubleheaders start at 1:00 p.m. Admission is free to all games at the UCF Softball Complex.