May 11, 2005
ORLANDO - The UCF softball team will travel to the 2005 Atlantic Sun Tournament in Boca Raton, Fla. this week as the No. 4 seed. The Golden Knights take on No. 3 seed Lipscomb Thursday at 9 a.m. with the winner playing that night at 8 p.m. and the loser playing at 6 p.m. The Black and Gold enter game one with a 41-26-1 record on the season and a 13-7 mark in the Atlantic Sun, while the Bisons come in with a 27-22 record on the season and a 13-7 mark in the A-Sun.
Stephanie Best paces the offense with a .330 batting average, 23 home runs, 54 RBI and 134 total bases. She has a team-high slugging percentage of .761. Jania Shinhoster leads the team in hits with 66 and is second in batting average at .322 with 11 doubles, four triples and four home runs.
As a team, UCF is hitting .272 with 45 home runs.
Lindsay Enders anchors the pitching staff with a 21-12 record and a 1.58 ERA. She leads the pitching staff in strikeouts with 174 as opponents are only hitting .200 against her.
As a team, the Golden Knights have an ERA of 2.29, while opponents are batting .235.
Best tops the league in home runs, walks (54), runs scored (51), RBI, on-base percentage (.487) and slugging percentage, while Enders leads the conference in wins, shutouts (8), innings pitched (243.2), games started (33), appearances (43) and complete games (30).
Nationally, Best ranks first in home runs, fourth in home runs per game (0.35), second in walks per game (0.76) and 19th in slugging percentage, while Cici Alvarez is 12th in sacrifice hits per game (0.35).
Last time out, UCF split with Atlantic Sun rival Stetson on Friday, May 6 in DeLand, Fla. The Golden Knights took game one, 5-1, while the Hatters won game two, 6-5, in eight innings.
Alvarez was 3-for-6 at the plate with three singles, two runs and a walk, while Shinhoster was 3-for-7 with a home run, two singles, two runs, three RBI and two walks. Enders earned the win in game one, going seven innings and giving up one earned run on 11 hits, three walks and three strikeouts. Jennifer Tomasetti was pegged with the loss in game two, going the distance and giving up six runs on 10 hits, four walks and five strikeouts.
Lipscomb is led offensively by Heather Collins. The Montverde, Fla. native is batting .344 with four home runs, four doubles, 24 RBI and 23 runs. She also leads the Bisons in slugging percentage (.472).
As a team, Lipscomb is hitting .260 with 19 home runs.
Danielle Catalano leads the pitching staff with a record of 13-10 on the season and an ERA of 1.86. Catalano has given up 62 runs on 135 hits, 31 walks and 136 strikeouts in 150.1 innings of work. Opponents are hitting .237 against Catalano.
The Bisons have a team ERA of 2.87.
Last time out, Lipscomb defeated No. 11 Alabama on Sunday, May 8 in Nashville, Tenn. Julia Davidson led the Bisons at the plate, going 2-for-3, while Leigh Little and Collins were each 2-for-4. Danielle Catalano earned the win in the circle for Lipscomb and Sara Meeks picked up her first save of the season.
This will be the seventh time that UCF and Lipscomb have met on the softball diamond with the Golden Knights leading the series, 4-2. The last time that these two teams met was on March 22, 2005 in Orlando with the two squads splitting. UCF took game one, 4-2, while Lipscomb won game two, 1-0.
Best was 2-for-4 at the plate with two home runs, two runs, four RBI and three walks. Best also had a slugging percentage of 2.000 for the two-game series. Enders picked up the win in game one, pitching the complete game and giving up two runs on five hits, four walks and two strikeouts, while Ashley Baker was tagged with the loss in game two, giving up one unearned run on five hits, one walk and four strikeouts.
The 2005 A-Sun Tournament is a double elimination tournament. If UCF defeats Lipscomb, the Golden Knights play again Thursday at 8 p.m., but if not, the squad will play at 6 p.m.