April 8, 2009
DELAND, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF (19-21) softball team blasted a pair of home runs, one each from Abby McClain (Waterloo, Iowa) and Lindsay Dean (Jacksonville, Fla.), while totaling 10 hits to take a, 4-3, win from Stetson (20-21) Wednesday at Patricia Wilson Field in non-conference action.
McClain paced UCF's offense with two hits, including her fourth home run of the season, two RBI and two runs scored, while Breanne Javier (Cataic, Calif.) also put together a two-hit performance, adding a double and a RBI. Six additional Knights posted a hit in the contest, with Dean, Tiffany Lane (Moreno Valley, Calif.) and Natalie Land (Mayo, Fla.) all scoring a run for the visiting team.
Ashleigh Cole (Pace, Fla.) picked up her 12th win of the season in the circle for the Black and Gold, shutting out the Hatters, while allowing only three hits, in three innings of relief. Kristina DeMello (Mead, Wash.) started the game on the rubber, giving up two earned runs on three hits in four innings of work.
McClain got the Knights on the board in the third inning with one swing of the bat, pounding a two-RBI, opposite-field home run over the right field fence, plating Land, who reached on a single to left field.
Stetson finally posted a hit off DeMello in the bottom of the fourth, before cutting the Knights' lead in half on a RBI double off the bat of Amanda Bailey. The Hatters later tied the game with two outs in the inning on a UCF throwing miscue.
Javier put the Black and Gold back on top in the following frame, lining a RBI double to left field to score Lane all the way from first base. Lane started the two-out rally with a single up the middle, before wheeling around the bases to score the go-ahead run.
A solo home run by Stetson's Rachel Lowe evened the game, 3-3, after five innings of play, before Dean followed suit with a home run of her own, the game-winner, with one out in the top of the sixth to put the Knights ahead for the third time during the course of the contest and for good.
After moving to the outfield in the fifth inning, McClain made a spectacular play in left field, robbing Bailey of a home run in the sixth by keeping the ball in play, holding her to a ground-rule double. The play would end up saving a run and saving the win for the Black and Gold.
UCF returns home to host Marshall this weekend in a three-game Conference USA series at the UCF Softball Complex. The Knights will host the Thundering Herd in a doubleheader Friday beginning at 3 p.m., before concluding the series Saturday at Noon.
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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