April 29, 2008
Orlando, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF softball team wraps up its regular-season non-conference schedule Wednesday when it travels to Bethune-Cookman for a 1 p.m. contest at Sunnyland Park. The Knights are 11-4 all-time when facing the Wildcats and hold a 1-0 record against the squad in 2008.
Previewing Bethune-Cookman
The Wildcats welcome the Knights to Daytona Beach with a 19-33 record on the season, winning seven of its last 10 contests. Bethune-Cookman also holds a 9-3 record in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play.
Allison Garcia leads the Wildcats at the plate with a .376 batting average, 50 hits and 12 doubles, while also pacing BCU in the circle with a 3.74 ERA and 107 strikeouts.
Over the Hill
With a win over Stetson on Sunday, the UCF softball team reached 40 wins in a season for the fourth time since its inception in 2002, and reached it in only 57 games, its fastest to the number to date. In their inaugural season, the Knights posted a 46-19 record and went 42-21 in 2004. Its 47-29-1 clip in 2005 saw the Black and Gold make its first trip to the NCAA Tournament, a feat the 2008 team looks to accomplish this season.
Hanging Tough
The UCF softball team received five votes in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 poll released April 29, placing them at No. 32 in the nation. The Knights sit at 40-17 on the season following a C-USA series sweep over Memphis and a non-conference win over Stetson.
The votes this week mark the fifth time this season that the Knights have been given at least one tally in the coaches' poll, receiving nine votes last week, seven votes on April 8 after defeating No. 9 Houston, two votes on April 15, and also garnering a single vote in the poll on March 25.
One Thing Leads to Another
The NFCA/Warren Nolan Division I Softball Ratings Percentage Index was released Tuesday, with the UCF softball team ranking in at No. 31 in the country, up one spot from last week's poll, where the Black and Gold ranked in at No. 32. The Knights' position was the second-highest, behind Houston (10), in Conference USA and third highest among Division I schools in the state of Florida, trailing first-place Florida and 29th place South Florida.
The index also rated teams on their strength-of-schedule for the 2008 season, with the Knights ranking in at No. 54.
Keepin' the Hit-Train Coming
Junior Breanne Javier is currently riding an 11-game hitting streak going into the contest with Bethune-Cookman Wednesday, a stretch that began on April 5 in the final game against No. 9 Houston. Since that game, the first-baseman is hitting .528 with 19 hits, two doubles, eight runs, seven RBI, a walk, a stolen base and one hit-by-pitch. The streak also includes seven multiple-hit games, including a 3-for-3 performance against Florida State in game two of the doubleheader at the UCF Softball Complex on April 9. On the season, Javier has totaled 25 multiple hits games, seven more than she had in 2007.
Sacrifice Fly Specialist
Hillary Barrow's pair of sacrifice flies in Sunday's win over Stetson tied the UCF single-game mark last set by Cat Snapp last season at Jacksonville. The sophomore has five sacrifice flies on the season, a mark that also ties the UCF single-season record and also ranks in a tie for the top spot in Conference USA. Barrow has totaled eight deep RBI in her two seasons with the Knights, a new program-career record last held by Rachelle Schmidt, Amber Lamb and Stephanie Best, who all posted seven sac flies in their careers at UCF.
Simply the Best
UCF has five different players rank in the NCAA Top 25 in various categories this week, with Allison Kime and Tiffany Lane posting two and Hillary Barrow, Breanne Javier and Ashleigh Cole recording one apiece. Kime ranks 13th in the nation with 25 victories in the circle and 19th with a 1.05 ERA this season, while Lane ranks 15th with five triples and 24th in triples per game. Barrow ranks third among the nation's best with five sacrifice flies, while Javier ranks in at No. 19 in the `Toughest to Strikeout' category. Cole's 1.22 walks allowed per seven innings is a mark that ranks 23rd in the country.
Kime and Lane also posted top-50 marks, with Kime ranking in at No. 40 with 8.3 strikeouts per game and Lane took the No. 44 spot with 0.42 stolen bases per game.
The Knights look to clinch a spot in the NCAA Tournament when they compete for the Conference USA Softball Championship title May 8-10 at Houston. For tickets, visit c-usa.org. 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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