May 21, 2005
Box Score
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Stephanie Best was three-for-four at the plate with a pair of RBI to lead UCF (47-28-1) to a 5-3 victory against No. 23 Florida (41-23) in an elimination game on Saturday night in the Gainesville Regional.
The win for the Golden Knights was the first-ever in program history against the Gators.
"We've had some close calls against Florida over the years," Head Coach Renee Luers-Gillispie said. "I was so proud of the effort and the heart our girls showed tonight."
UCF grabbed the early 1-0 lead as Best ripped a two-out triple down the right field line. She would come around to score on a fielding error by Gator third baseman Kristin Butler.
The Golden Knights used an RBI single by Brytanni Lindheim to extend the advantage to 2-0 in the second inning.
UCF stretched the lead to 3-0 in the third inning as Crystle Krafft reached on a Gator fielding error.
Best capped her three-for-four evening driving home two runs with a double in the left field gap to make it 5-0.
The Gators didn't go down with a fight blasting a three-run home run by Melissa Zick. The inning was continued on a throwing error by Lindsay Enders with two outs. Enders was able to rebound retiring the final four Florida hitters.
Enders fired a complete game to pick up her 26th win of the season tying a single season record. Dottie Cupp also threw for 26 wins for the Golden Knights in the 2002 season.
"Lindsay is a competitor," Luers-Gillispie said. "I knew she was going to be able to rebound after the home run."
The Golden Knights will take on USF in another elimination game tonight at the Florida Softball Stadium. You can follow all of the action via a live radio webcast on UCFathletics.com
Game Notes: Stephanie Best knocked her third triple of the season in the first inning...The Golden Knights are now 37-6-1 when scoring first this season...All five RBI for UCF came with two outs...137 of the 281 RBI this season for UCF has come with two outs...UCF is now 34-0 this season when leading after six innings.