May 3, 2008
Hattiesburg, Miss. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF softball team finishes out its regular-season schedule with a Conference USA series at Southern Miss this weekend, kicking off the three-game series Saturday at 6 p.m. EST. The Knights' regular-season finale is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. EST.
Previewing Southern Miss
The Lady Eagles welcome the Knights to Mississippi with a 24-27 record on the season, and a 7-11C-USA clip, good for seventh in the league.
Megan Hill paces the Lady Eagles offensively with a .333 batting average and a team-best 28 RBIs, while Jennifer Fox is also having a good season with a .315 average. Kristin Pilgrim leads the team with nine doubles, while batting .305.
The Knights are 2-4 all-time when facing Southern Miss.
Holding Tight
No matter the outcome of the Knights' games this weekend, they will clinch the No. 2 seed heading into the Conference USA Softball Championship on May 8-10. The Knights hold a 14-6 league record, trailing only No. 9 Houston in the standings.
Third Time's the Charm
Allison Kime (26-9) threw all seven innings for the Knights in their 7-1 win over Bethune-Cookman Wednesday, allowing only one run on two hits. Her 15 strikeouts tie the UCF game-high for seven innings of work and marked the third time this season the hurler has recorded the number. The outing was also 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.
Give Me a Dozen
With her single in the fifth inning against the Wildcats on Wednesday, 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.
First Time for Everything
Freshman Abby McClain (Waterloo, Iowa) posted her first-career home run Wednesday against Bethune-Cookman, giving UCF a five-run advantage in the fifth inning, taking a 3-2 pitch over the left centerfield fence to also score Lindsay Dean (Jacksonville, Fla.), who reached earlier on a BCU fielding error.
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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