April 3, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF softball team returns home this weekend to host a three-game Conference USA series with Southern Miss at the UCF Softball Complex. Saturday's doubleheader with the Golden Eagles is slated to get underway at 1 p.m., while Sunday's contest is set to begin at Noon.
GAME DAY ESSENTIALS
? Schedule
Saturday, April 4
1:00 p.m. - Southern Miss at UCF (Game one)
3:00 p.m. - Southern Miss at UCF (Game two)
Sunday, April 5
12:00 p.m. - Southern Miss at UCF
? The Coaches
UCF: Renee Luers-Gillispie
USM: Howard Dobson
? Records
UCF: 16-17, 2-4 C-USA
USM: 18-17-1, 7-5 C-USA
? C-USA Standing
UCF: 8th (2-7)
USM: 4th (7-5)
? Last C-USA Series
Memphis 1 at Southern Miss 2
UCF 0 at East Carolina 3
? Series
Series even, 5-5
? Last Meeting
UCF 3, USM 2 (2008)
? UCF's Last Time Out
3.29.2009
at East Carolina, L, 0-5
? Radio
Stretch Internet Radio
(UCFAthletics.com)
? Live Video
Knights All-Access
(UCFAthletics.com)
? Live Stats
Gametracker
(UCFAthletics.com)
? The UCF softball team hosts Conference USA-foe Southern Miss this weekend with a 16-20 record on the season, which includes a 2-7 league record.
? In their last leauge series at East Carolina, the Knights struggled to get a timely hit, falling to the Pirates in all three contests. In the three-game event, the Black and Gold stranded 18 runners on base, while posting eight hits.
? Southern Miss enters the C-USA series with the Knights with an 18-17-1 overall record and holds a 7-5 mark in C-USA games, winning series against Memphis, East Carolina and Marshall. The Golden Eagles are led offensively by junior Megan Hill, who holds a .427 batting average with 41 hits and 35 RBI.
? The Knights and the Golden Eagles are even in the all-time series, 5-5, after UCF took two of three games on the road in the teams' league series and defeated Southern Miss in the opening game of the C-USA Championship last season. In the four-game stretch vs. the Golden Eagles, Allison Kime threw 23.2 innings and earned three wins, while striking out 35 batters.
? Senior Breanne Javier enters Saturday's doubleheader at the UCF Softball Complex with a three-game hitting steak, after posting one hit in each of the Knights' contests at East Carolina last weekend. Javier leads the team with 40 hits and 24 RBI, while posting a .348 batting average.
LAST TIME OUT...
In the Knights' last outing, they fell in three-straight games to East Carolina in Greenville, N.C. Breanne Javier paced UCF at the plate with three hits.
IN LEAGUE PLAY
With three C-USA series under its belt, UCF has two players rank in the league's top-10 in major offensive categories for games played against C-USA foes. Tiffany Lane is tied for the sixth spot in hits (12), tied for seventh in slugging percentage (.667), eighth in batting average (.400) and 10th in on-base percentage (.471), while holding the league-lead in triples (2). Breanne Javier also makes an appearance in the C-USA top-10 with 12 hits on the season, match Lane and two other players for the sixth spot.
THE QUEST FOR 300
With 16 wins on the season, the UCF softball team and Renee Luers-Gillispie need only six more wins in 2009 for the duo to reach the 300-win mark at the Division I level. Gillispie and the Knights currently hold a 294-203-1 all-time record.
STREAKER
After posting a hit in each of the Knights' three games last weekend at East Carolina, Breanne Javier is riding a three-game hitting streak heading into the C-USA series with Southern Miss this weekend. During the run, Javier batted .375 and added a sacrifice hit.
DOUBLE IT UP
C-USA's leader in double-plays turned, UCF has totaled 18 DPs this season, including three in their last five contests. The closest to the Knights in fielding double plays in the league is Memphis, who has turned 13 double plays this season. Not only do the Knights lead the league in double plays, but they also rank 17th nationally in the category with a 0.52 double-plays per game average. Oregon State is the NCAA leader, with a 0.78 average. Breanne Javier has had her hand in 14 of those DPs, which is also tops in the league. Shortstop Tiffany Lane has contributed to eight, which places her third in C-USA.
ON DECK FOR THE KNIGHTS
Next up for UCF is a trip to nearby DeLand for a mid-week match-up with Stetson on Wednesday at 5 p.m. The Black and Gold holds an 11-5 advantage over the Hatters in the all-time series, which includes victories in the teams' last three meetings. The contest is scheduled to air on Bright House Sports Network.
.300 CLUB
As the Black and Gold prepares to hit the field Saturday against the Golden Eagles, it has four players that are batting over .300 on the season. Junior Morgan Bullard paces the Knights at the plate with a .375 average, while Tiffany Land and Breanne Javier follow close behind with .352 and .348 clips, respectfully. Rounding out the .300 club is sophomore Abby McClain, who boasts a .336 batting average on the season.
PRODUCING PAUL
Despite getting tagged with the loss in the Knights' opening contest at East Carolina Saturday morning, senior Magon Paul had UCF's strongest performance in the circle for the visiting team. The hurler allowed only one earned run on nine hits in 5.2 innings of work. Paul posted a team-low 1.24 ERA against the Pirates, dropping her overall ERA from a 3.55 to a 3.32.
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