May 17, 2008
Gainesville, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF softball team fell from the ranks of the unbeaten in the NCAA Gainesville Regional Saturday afternoon, falling to No. 1 Florida, 3-0, at Katie Seashole Pressly Softball Stadium. With the loss, the Knights fall to 47-19 on the season and will play Georgia Tech at 6 p.m. tonight.
"We had our opportunities to score runs in that game," head coach Renee Luers-Gillispie said. "But we were not able to produce hits when those opportunities arose. I tip my hat to Florida because they were able to execute when they needed to."
Allison Kime (Brandon, Fla.) was tagged with the loss in the circle, allowing three runs on four hits, while striking out four. The hurler's record falls to 31-11 on the season following the defeat.
Tiffany Lane (Moreno Valley, Calif.) paced the Black and Gold offense going 2-for-2 from the plate. Also posting hits for the Knights were Marquita Council (Orlando, Fla.) and Abby McClain (Waterloo, Iowa).
UCF had numerous opportunities to take the lead from the Gators throughout the contest, stranding six runners on base, including two in both the third and the sixth innings.
The Gators started the scoring in the third inning when Corrie Brooks took a 0-1 delivery from Kime over the left field fence.
Two additional runs crossed for Florida in the sixth inning on a two-RBI single to centerfield by Francesca Enea. Lead-off batter Kim Waleszonia laid down a bunt single to start the inning and advanced to second on a wild pitch by Kime. A sacrifice bunt from Aja Paculba moved the speedy centerfielder to third, before a walk allowed to Ali Gardiner put two runners on base. Pinch runner Le-Net Franklin stole second base on the next pitch, before Enea's single plated both runners.
The Knights posted their biggest threat in the sixth inning, with McClain and Lane leading off the frame with back-to-back one-out singles. But a fielder's choice back to the pitcher tagged McClain out at third and a grounder to second base tamed the UCF charge.
Stacey Nelson picked up the win in the circle for Florida, moving her record to 42-2 on the season, while the Gators improve to 64-2 overall.
The Black and Gold continues its run toward the Women's College World Series Saturday at 6 p.m. at the NCAA Gainesville Regional.
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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