March 8, 2008
Orlando, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Senior hurler Allison Kime (Brandon, Fla.) pitched all 15 innings of the Knights' 6-2 loss to East Carolina (18-5, 2-0 C-USA) Friday afternoon, setting a new Conference USA record for innings pitched in a game. The most frames pitched prior to the 15-inning marathon were in 2000, when Southern Miss' Courtney Blades threw 13 innings against LSU. The UCF softball team dropped both games of the doubleheader with the Pirates at the UCF Softball Complex, falling 2-1 in the nightcap.
The 15-inning game tied the C-USA record for the most innings played overall all-time and all-time for a conference game, while Kime also captured the record for most innings pitched in a C-USA league game.
With the pair losses the Knights fall to 14-12 on the season and 0-2 in C-USA. Kime suffered the loss in game one, moving her record to 7-6 on the year, while Ashleigh Cole (Pace, Fla.) was tagged with the loss in game two to fall to 5-5 on the season. ECU's Toni Paisley earned the win in both games of the doubleheader.
In game one, Breanne Javier (Castaic, Calif.) led the Knights at the plate, going 4-for-7 with a walk and one run scored, while Lindsay Dean (Jacksonville, Fla.), Marquita Council (Orlando, Fla.) and Tiffany Lane (Moreno Valley, Calif.) all posted two hits in the contest.
UCF put two runners on with two outs for the third-straight inning in the third, but finally tallied a run with Javier scoring from third on an error by the Pirates' third baseman. Javier reached on a single to lead off the inning.
An error by the Knights allowed East Carolina to tie the game, 1-1, with two outs in top half of the fifth inning and the score would remain deadlocked through the 10th inning when the Pirates scored on a walk, a double and a sacrifice fly.
UCF tied the game in the bottom half of the inning on a RBI single from Hillary Barrow (Miami, Fla.). Lane and Javier reached on back-to-back singles, before Barrow's single down the left-field line kept the Knights in the game.
Three more innings passed with no one crossing the plate, until East Carolina put four runs across in the top of the 15th on back-to-back triples down the right field line, making the score 6-2 and clinching the win.
In the nightcap, Council paced the Black and Gold with two of its total four hits.
It seemed like déjà vu in the second game, with the Knights plating a runner in the third inning thanks to a wild pitch from ECU starter Paisley. Cole reached base on a double to right centerfield and reached third on a putout. Pinch runner Morgan Bullard (Columbia, S.C.) then scored on the errant pitch.
The similarities from the first game kept coming with the Pirates scoring a run in the fifth inning, to tie the score 1-1, but the likeness ended there. East Carolina scored the winning run in the top of the seventh inning on a pair of singles and a sacrifice fly.
On the day, UCF stranded 23 runners on base, including 19 in the opening contest, while East Carolina left 25 runners on base through both games.
The Knights conclude their three-game series with the Pirates Sunday at Noon at the UCF Softball Complex.
Season tickets for the 2008 season are still available and can be purchased by calling 407-UCF-1000. For the latest news and information on the Knights, tickets or apparel log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. Also check out UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pics
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