Feb. 23, 2010
UCF at North Florida Game Notes
| Game Day Essentials UCF at North Florida |
Game Time
? 5:00 p.m.
Team Records
? UCF: 4-5
? North Florida: 2-10
Series Record
? Overall Record: 5-2
? in Orlando: 3-1
? in Jacksonville: 1-0
? Neutral Sites: 1-1
? Luers-Gillispie vs. North Florida: 5-2
Broadcast Information
? Live Stats: UCFAthletics.com
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? Game Day Quick Hits:
? The Knights enter Wednesday's road game at North Florida with a 4-5 record on the year after posting a 3-3 clip while hosting the UCF Invitational last weekend. One of those wins at the tournament came against the Ospreys, as UCF defeated them, 6-3, on Friday night.
? The contest in Jacksonville is only the second for the Knights all-time. The last and only time the Black and Gold played on the Ospreys' home turf was in 2008, when UCF defeated the home team, 7-0, on April 2.
? Junior Tiffany Lane enters Wednesday's contest only one triple short of matching, and two triples short of claiming, the Conference USA record for career triples. Having posted three triples already in 2010, Lane boasts a UCF all-time record 18 triples.
? In the teams' last meeting, junior Diana Rojas picked up her first win of the season on the mound after allowing only three runs on three hits, while fanning two in four innings of work. Senior Kristina DeMello earned the first save of her career in the same contest, tossing 3.0 innings of scoreless softball.
? After the contest with the Ospreys, UCF will continue to travel north to take part in the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga. There the Black and Gold will battle two teams ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, No. 9 Alabama and No. 10 Georgia Tech.
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF softball team kicks-off a season-long six game road trip Wednesday when it heads to Jacksonville for a rematch against North Florida at 5 p.m. The Knights defeated the Ospreys, 6-3, in their opening game of the UCF Invitational Friday.
Following the single-game showdown at North Florida, the Black and Gold will continue its trip north to Columbus, Ga., where it will compete in the prestigious NFCA Leadoff Classic Feb. 26-28. During the event, the Knights will faceoff against No. 10 Georgia Tech, Arkansas, Nebraska, Maryland and No. 9 Alabama.
TRIPLE THE FUN
After already posting three triples only nine games into the 2010 season, junior Tiffany Lane is only two triples short of the C-USA all-time record. Lane, who already holds the UCF career record for three-baggers with 18, tallied seven triples as a freshman before claiming a share of the NCAA Statistical Champion honors with eight triples as a sophomore. Her 18 career triples trails only Sarah Martz, who totaled 19 three-baggers with DePaul from 2001-04.
BIG WEEKEND
Senior Morgan Bullard paced the Knights at the plate last week after posting a .429 batting average, a .467 on base percentage and a .571 slugging percentage. The outfielder went 6-for-14 with five runs scored, a triple and a walk. Bullard posted a hit and scored the game-winning run in the second inning against SEC's South Carolina in the opening game of the UCF Invitational, before going 2-for-3 with a triple, and two runs scored against North Florida in UCF's second game of the tournament. The outfielder opened day two with her second-consecutive two-hit performance versus Villanova, going 2-for-3 with a run scored and a stolen base. Bullard finished out the week with a hit against Florida A&M on Sunday.
BOMBS AWAY
In her second at bat against the Rattlers Sunday afternoon, Hillary Barrow blasted her first home run of the year, and the first for the Knights in 2010. With the solo shot, Barrow moved into UCF's all-time top-10 with seven career round trippers. The senior needs two more home runs to overtake the program's No. 9 spot, held by Rachelle Schmidt, who totaled eight home runs from 2002-04.
AGAINST THE BIG DOGS
After handing South Carolina its first loss of the season Friday in their opening game of the UCF Invitational, the Knights improved to 2-1 on the year against teams from the Southeastern Conference.
PULLING HER WEIGHT
Junior Diana Rojas pitched the Knights to a pair of victories last week in three appearances in the circle, posting wins against North Florida and Villanova. The hurler registered a 1.80 ERA while holding the opposition to a .196 batting average. Rojas also totaled five strikeouts and walked only three batters in 11.2 innings of work. She opened the week with an appearance against Stetson, where she threw one scoreless inning of relief. She then earned her first win of 2010 against North Florida, allowing three runs on three hits, while striking out two in 4.0 innings of work. Rojas concluded the week with her second-straight win against Villanova. She tossed 6.2 innings of scoreless softball, while allowing only four hits to the Wildcats. She also struck out three batters and allowed only two walks.
SPEED ON THE BASEPATHS
Through nine games this season, UCF has posted six triples. The mark is the highest in Conference USA, doubling the next closest mark held by UAB (3). On the year, the Knights are averaging 0.64 triples per game, compared to only 0.11 for its opponents.
IN THE CLUTCH
When talking about a clutch hitter, people normally don't think of a rookie. But, for the UCF softball team that is just the case. Freshman Marissa Menendez has come up big for the Knights in 2010, posting a perfect 1.000 batting average with the bases loaded. Menendez posted two RBI both of her opportunities to score runners with the bases juiced. The freshman has also drove in two runs with runners on third and less than two outs and is batting .500 with runners on base.
UCF DEBUT
Freshman Arielle Palafox made her UCF debut Sunday against Florida A&M. The California native came into the game in the top of the seventh inning to play first base for the Knights. Defensively, Palafox accounted for two of the Rattlers' outs that inning, which included a pop up and an unassisted putout.
SCOUTING NORTH FLORIDA
The Ospreys host the Knights Wednesday with a 2-10 overall record on the year. North Florida opened the season with a 1-4 clip at the FIU Tournament, before falling to Troy in its home-opening doubleheader to Troy. The Ospreys then posted another 1-4 record last weekend at the UCF Invitational. Alyson Bailey paces UNF's offense with a .259 batting average, while Devyn Findley leads the Osprey's pitching staff with a 3.98 ERA and 50 strikeouts.
Season tickets for the 2010 season are only $40 and are on sale now, while single-game tickets are also available for purchase. Tickets can be purchased online at UCFAthletics.com or through the Athletics Ticket Office by calling (407) 823-1000.
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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