March 17, 2005
ORLANDO - The UCF softball team hosts their last tournament of the season when Kent State, Northern Illinois, Charleston Southern and Georgia Tech come to town this weekend. Games will be played at the UCF Softball Complex and University High School on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Friday and Saturday will be round robin play with Sunday being bracket play.
This will be the fourth time that UCF (23-16-1) and Charleston Southern (9-22) have met on the softball diamond with the Golden Knights leading the series, 3-0. The Black and Gold took on Northern Illinois (9-6) for the first time last weekend in the 2005 Speedline Invitational in Clearwater, Fla. where the Knights defeated the Huskies, 6-5. Saturday will mark the first time in program history that UCF has ever met up with Kent State (7-8) and Georgia Tech (23-6).
The Golden Knights enter the weekend with a 23-16-1 record. UCF split with Bradley University in a midweek series on Tuesday. The Braves took game one, 11-3 in five innings, while the Knights took game two, 3-2.
Stephanie Best paces the offense with a .360 batting average, and leads the Golden Knights with 40 hits, including 15 home runs and 32 RBI. She has a team-high slugging percentage of .811. Bryttani Lindheim is second on the team in batting average with .302 with 29 hits, eight of which are doubles and one home run. Crystle Krafft is second on the team in hits with 34, 10 of which are doubles. Amber Lamb is a close third with 33 hits, while Jania Shinhoster has 31.
Lindsay Enders and Kelly McIntyre anchor the pitching staff. McIntyre is 14-5 in her last 19 decisions dating back to last season. This season McIntyre is 9-3 with a 3.25 ERA. Enders comes in with a 9-9 mark, and paces the staff by far with 100 strikeouts. The opposition comes in only hitting .200 against Enders this season.
Freshman Jill Shondel leads the way for Charleston Southern who is hitting .380 on the season with 30 hits, five of which are doubles, and 12 RBI and runs. Freshman Whitney James leads the Buccaneers in the circle with a 5-4 record and a 4.54 ERA. She has struck out 38, while only giving up 19 walks with opposing teams hitting .267 against her.
Sophomore Ellen Stoddard leads the way for Northern Illinois with a .400 batting average after getting 14 hits, one home run and two doubles. Senior Toni Del Toro leads the Huskies in slugging percentage with a .561 after hitting four doubles, one triple and one home run for nine RBI and four runs. The Huskies' pitching staff is anchored by junior Lindsey LaChiana who is 6-3 on the season with a 1.96 ERA. LaChiana has fanned 61 batters, while only walking 19. Opposing teams are only hitting .211 against her.
Freshman Jessica Toocheck leads the offensive attack for Kent State with a .405 batting average. Junior Ashley Fairhurst paces the Golden Flashes in the slugging department with a .610 percentage after getting 14 hits with five doubles and two home runs for 12 RBI and six runs. Junior Erin Christopher paces the pitching staff with a 2-1 record and a 1.01 ERA, while opposing teams are hitting .266 against her.
Junior Christine Sherida leads the way for Georgia Tech with a .477 batting average and .659 slugging percentage after getting 42 hits with four being doubles and four being home runs for 17 RBI and 20 runs. Senior Jessica Sallinger tops the pitching staff with a 12-4 record and a 1.17 ERA. Sallinger has struck out 161 batters, while only walking 35. Opposing teams are only hitting .127 against her.
The Golden Knights will face Charleston Southern on Friday at 1 p.m. followed by Northern Illinois at 3 p.m. On Saturday, UCF will take on Kent State at 1 p.m. and Georgia Tech at 3 p.m. Depending on how the team does on Friday and Saturday will determine when they play on Sunday.
All of UCF's games will be played at the UCF Softball Complex behind the UCF Arena. Admission to all games is free to the public.