Feb. 10, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - After posting a 1-3 record at the Kajikawa Classic last weekend, the UCF softball team returns to the friendly confines of the UCF Softball Complex on Wednesday to face in-state rival North Florida in its 2009 home opener. The doubleheader against the Ospreys is scheduled to get underway at 3 p.m.
Fans can expect to stick around after the final out as the Knights will be signing autographs for fans after the conclusion of the nightcap.
GAME DAY ESSENTIALS
? Schedule
Wednesday, Feb. 11
3 p.m. - Game No. 1 vs. North Florida
5 p.m. - Game No. 2 vs. North Florida
? Series
UCF leads North Florida, 3-1
? Live Video
Knights All-Access (UCFAthletics.com)
? Radio
UCFAthletics.com
? Live Stats
UCFAthletics.com (Gametracker)
? The Knights are 4-3 all-time in home openers since the program's inception in 2002. Last year, the Black and Gold ushered in the new season with a 5-0 blanking of Illinois State at the UCF Softball Complex.
? The UCF softball team enters its home-opening doubleheader Wednesday against North Florida with a 1-3 record on the season following the ASU Kajikawa Classic. There, the Knights dropped a pair of contests on Friday to Texas Tech, 12-4, and No. 2 Arizona State, 10-7, before bouncing back with a win over Oklahoma State, 8-5, in their first game Saturday. The Black and Gold would conclude the tournament with a tough loss to Western Michigan, 10-1, in five innings Saturday night.
? The Knights continue to receive national recognition in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll this week, receiving two votes in the poll. The pair of votes continue UCF's streak of eight-straight weeks among the best in the nation.
? Senior Breanne Javier enters Wednesday's contest holding a four-game hitting streak. The first baseman had a hit in her first at-bat of the season against Texas Tech, and went on to post two hits against both No. 2 Arizona State and Oklahoma State, before finishing the tournament with one of the Knights' only two hits against Western Michigan.
? In the last meeting between the Knights and the Ospreys, UCF took home a 7-0 victory in Jacksonville thanks to a grand slam home run by Lindsay Dean. The Black and Gold scored all seven of its runs in the sixth inning, which included Dean's home run, only the 10th grand slam in program history.
NATIONAL PROPS
With the 2009 home-opener upon us, the UCF softball team continues to make noise at the national level, receiving two votes in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll released on Tuesday. The NFCA Poll Committee, made up of NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference, voted UCF as one of the top teams in the nation for the eighth-straight week, dating back to last season. The Knights began the streak on March 25, 2008 when they received one vote in the poll, before they garnered a program-record 26 votes in the final poll of 2008.
PITCHING PAUL
Senior Magon Paul tossed a team-high 9.1 innings last weekend in the Kajikawa Classic for the Knights in the circle, earning the team's only win against Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon. The victory on the mound was the first for Paul since 2007, when she earned the win in a shutout performance against Alabama State on Feb. 24. The senior also held her ground against No. 2 Arizona State in relief on Friday night, holding the defending national champions to only three runs in three innings of work.
THE QUEST FOR 300
Head coach Renee Luers-Gillispie enters the 2009 season with a 279-186-1 record at the helm of the Knights, needing only 21 more wins to reach the 300-win plateau at UCF. The Knights have posted at least 20 wins in their last two seasons, making the skipper's goal easily within reach.
GOING YARD
The Knights had three different players hit home runs during the Kajikawa Classic, which including career firsts for freshmen Vanessa Perez and Natalie Land. Hillary Barrow launched the first bomb of the season in the seventh inning against No. 2 Arizona State, before Perez followed with a dinger of her own two batters later. Land's home run, a solo shot, helped the Knights secure a victory over Oklahoma State in its first game on Saturday afternoon.
AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH...
Heading into the home-opener versus North Florida on Wednesday, senior Breanne Javier looks to climb even higher in 20 different UCF career batting and fielding categories in which she already ranks in the top-10. The first baseman already holds all-time records in chances (1,641), putouts (1,554) and most double-plays turned (37), while sitting in the top-five in batting average (.327), RBI (90), total bases (238), intentional walks (3), stolen base percentage (.900) and fielding percentage (.987).
Season tickets are on sale now for the 2009 softball season, which features 34 home games at the UCF Softball Complex. For the latest news on the Knights, log on to www.UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit www.UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
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