May 3, 2008
Hattiesburg, Miss. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Despite out-hitting Southern Miss, 6-3, in game one, the UCF softball team could not pull off the win, falling to the home team, 2-1, before battling back to take a 5-3 win from the Lady Eagles in the nightcap Saturday night at the USM Softball Complex.
With a double in the first game and a single in the second, Breanne Javier (Castaic, Calif.) extended her hitting streak to 14 games and tied the UCF all-time record for most-consecutive games with a hit. Jania Shinhoster set the mark during the 2005 season, recording a hit in 14-straight games from March 20-April 15.
Marquita Council (Orlando, Fla.) shined for the Knights at the plate in the doubleheader, recording three hits, a double and two RBI.
Allison Kime (Brandon, Fla.) earned the win in game two, allowing only on unearned run, one hit and striking out six in 3.2 innings of relief. Diana Rojas (Miami, Fla.) started the game in the circle for UCF, allowing only two runs, both unearned, on two hits, while striking out one in 3.1 innings of work.
Council registered two hits, a double and two RBI in the win, while Tiffany Lane (Moreno Valley, Calif.) added two runs and a RBI.
Southern Miss put two runs across in the first inning, before the Knights cut the lead in half in the third after Lane reached on a walked, moved to third on a double to the right-centerfield gap by Council and scored on a sacrifice fly by Javier.
The Knights took advantage of the Lady Eagles' pitching staff struggles in the sixth inning, scoring four runs and taking a three-run lead. Cat Snapp (Niceville, Fla.) started the inning with a one-out single up the middle, before two walks, a wild pitch and a hit-by-pitch plated two Knights. Two more runs, including the game-winner, scored in the inning on Council's two-RBI double to left-centerfield.
Kime took the loss in the opening contest, despite fanning 12 batters and allowing only three hits and one walk. Her dozen strikeouts gave her 304 for the year and marked the 12th time this season she has thrown double-digits in strikeouts in a contest.
Hillary Barrow (Miami, Fla.) led the Knights at the plate going 2-for-3 and scoring UCF's only run. Council, Javier, Lexi Gresham (Fresno, Calif.) and Snapp each added a hit for the Black and Gold.
UCF started the scoring in the second inning after Barrow reached on a single up the middle of the infield, and moved to third on a single to right field by Snapp. A wild pitch by Southern Miss starter, Samantha Davis, brought Barrow in from third and gave the Knights a one-run advantage going into the bottom of the frame.
The Lady Eagles tied the game in the fourth inning when Kristin Pilgrim took her first offering from Kime over the left field fence. But Kime continued to roll despite the setback, striking out Logan James for her eighth strikeout of the game and her 300th of the season.
Southern Miss broke the tie and scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning after Kristin Chaney lined a triple down the left field line and scored on a Logan James sacrifice fly to centerfield.
With the split, the Black and Gold moves to 42-18 on the season and 15-7 in C-USA action and will play in its regular-season finale against the Lady Eagles Sunday at 1 p.m.
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
-UCF-