April 30, 2008
Daytona Beach, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Tiffany Lane (Moreno Valley, Calif.) went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, Allison Kime (Brandon, Fla.) struck out 15 batters and Abby McClain (Waterloo, Iowa) hit the first home run of her career to lead the UCF softball team to a 7-1 win over Bethune-Cookman (19-34) Wednesday afternoon at Sunnyland Park.
Kime (26-9) threw all seven innings for the Knights (41-17), allowing only one run on two hits. Her 15 strikeouts tie the UCF game-high for seven innings of work and mark the 11th time this season that the hurler has recorded 10 or more strikeouts in a contest. Kime also had two hits in the contest, a pair of doubles, and two RBI.
With her single in the fifth inning, Breanne Javier (Castaic, Calif.) extended her hitting steak to 12 games, the longest for the Black and Gold this season. The junior needs to post a hit in only two more games to tie Jania Shinhoster for the longest streak all-time.
UCF did not wait long to put a run on the board, with Lane leading off the inning on a hot single down the left-field line, stole second base and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Marquita Council (Orlando, Fla). She later scored on a RBI grounder by Javier.
Two more runs touched home for the Knights in the fourth inning, with Council leading off the frame with an infield single and moving to second on a throwing error by the Wildcat first baseman. Hillary Barrow (Miami, Fla.) drove her in with a double down the right field line, before Kime brought Barrow around with a double down the opposite line.
McClain gave UCF a five-run advantage in the fifth inning, taking a 3-2 pitch over the left centerfield fence, scoring Lindsay Dean (Jacksonville, Fla.), who reached earlier on a BCU fielding error. Lane followed the home run with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a line-drive single by Javier, before Kime hit her second double of the game to score Javier from second, extending UCF"s lead, 7-0.
Bethune-Cookman would put their only run across in the bottom of the seventh inning, a home run by Holly Bussey, over the centerfield wall.
The Knights travel to Hattiesburg, Miss this weekend to take on Southern Miss in their final regular-season series of 2008.
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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