Feb. 23, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF softball team continues its 12-game homestand when it hosts Centenary on Tuesday at the UCF Softball Complex. The contest, set to get underway at 3 p.m., is the fifth-straight for the Knights on their home turf, where they have won three of their last four games.
GAME DAY ESSENTIALS
? Schedule
Tuesday, Feb. 24
3:00 p.m. - Centenary
? The Coaches
UCF: Renee Luers-Gillispie
Centenary: Mark Montgomery
? Records
UCF: 8-7
Centenary: 9-2
? Series
First meeting with Centenary
? UCF's Last Time Out
2.22.2009
vs. Oklahoma State, L, 2-0
? Radio
Stretch Radio
(UCFAthletics.com)
? Live Video
Knights All-Access
(UCFAthletics.com)
? Live Stats
Gametracker
(UCFAthletics.com)
? The UCF softball team continues its 12-game homestand on Tuesday against Centenary at 3 p.m. at the UCF Softball Complex. The Knights began the home stretch last weekend at the UCF Comfort Suites Invitational and will continue to play at the UCF Softball Complex through March 4 when they host Loyola Chicago. In 2009, the Black and Gold is 6-4 when playing on its home turf.
? Senior Breanne Javier needs only three more hits to take sole possession of the No. 3 spot on the UCF all-time register. With 205 career hits, the first baseman trails only Stephanie Best (285), Jania Shinhoster (268) and Cici Alvarez (207). Last season, Javier set a program single-season record with 85 hits. If she can match that number in 2009, she will claim sole possession of second on the register.
? Tuesday's contest vs. Centenary marks the first between the two schools, but both teams have shared an opponent already this season. Both the Knights and the Ladies have posted wins over Boston College in the early part of their schedules, with the Black and Gold getting a, 2-1, win over the Eagles on Saturday, while the Ladies picked up their 8-6 win over BC on Feb. 6.
? UCF last hit the dirt on Saturday on their final game of the UCF Comfort Suites Invitational. In their opening contest Saturday, the Knights defeated Boston College, 2-1, behind a perfect 3-for-3 outing from Breanne Javier. In her flawless performance at the plate, the senior also had a double and scored the game-tying run in the sixth inning. Later that evening, the Knights dropped their only game of the tournament to Oklahoma State, 2-0, in a rematch of their earlier season game during the Kajikawa Classic. Vanessa Perez and Lindsay Dean posted UCF's only hits in the contests.
ON FIRE
During the three-day UCF Comfort Suites Invitational, the Knights showed everyone just what they could do on the offensive side of the ball. As a team, the squad batted .328 (32-for-98) with 10 doubles, 12 RBI and a .429 slugging percentage. On Friday alone, UCF posted a .451 batting average with seven doubles and 14 runs scored, while recording a .588 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage.
UCF PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore Abby McClain helped lead the UCF softball team to a 4-1 record last week after posting a .474 (9-for-19) batting average with five doubles, a triple, six runs scored and four RBI. Of McClain's nine hits, six were for extra bases, which included the game-winning RBI double in the eighth inning against Jacksonville on Wednesday. In that contest, McClain went 3-for5 with a double, a triple and one run scored. During the UCF Comfort Suites Invitational, McClain totaled six hits, which included four doubles, scored five runs and had two RBI while accounting for seven of the Black and Gold's 16 total runs. She opened the tournament with 3-for-4 outing against Portland State in which she had a double, scored two runs and knocked in the game-tying RBI. Later that evening, she put together a 3-for-4 performance, with all three of her hits being doubles. She also scored three runs for the home team, including the game-winning run in the third inning. Through five games, McClain posted an .842 slugging percentage and had 16 total bases.
BREAKING OPEN
Junior Mary Helen Tyler paced the UCF softball team with a .545 batting average through five games last week. Prior to the Knights' contest against Portland State on Feb. 20, the outfielder had yet to record a hit in 2009, before going 2-for-2 with a RBI, a run scored and a walk against the Vikings. Tyler went on to post two hits and score a run against Illinois-Chicago and recorded two hits, including a double, and the game-winning RBI in the win over Boston College on Saturday. The junior improved her batting average on the season from a .000 to a .273 in the Knights' last four contests.
WHENEVER, WHERE EVER
A true utility player, Abby McClain has started in all 15 games for the Black and Gold in five different positions. The majority of her games started have been in left field, while she has started three games each at both catcher and second base. The sophomore has also played one contest in centerfield and one as the designated player.
CAN I GET SOME ASSISTANCE?
With 43 assists already on the season, freshman Natalie Land ranks second among her Conference USA peers, only one assist behind UTEP's Amber Bennett, who has totaled 44 in 2009. Also in the top 10 in the category is Hillary Barrow. The junior third baseman shares the No. 7 spot in the top-10 with Houston's Christa Raley, having both accumulated 27 assists on the year.
BREAKING RECORDS
Abby McClain became the first Knight in program history to hit three doubles in one game on Friday night against Illinois-Chicago on the opening day of the UCF Comfort Suites Invitational. The sophomore utility player blasted a double in the first, third and sixth frames of the contest. As a team, the Knights totaled six doubles in the game tying the program-record set in March 2003 vs. Campbell.
EXTRA INNINGS
Fans can catch up with the Knights each week by watching `Extra Innings with Renee Luers-Gillispie' on Knights All-Access, exclusively at UCFAtheltics.com. The skipper reviews the week that was, previews the Knights' upcoming contests and answers fan questions on every episode of the broadcast. Curious Knight enthusiasts can also find out Gillispie's pick for the team's player of the week in each installment.
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.
-UCF