March 25, 2010
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Senior Hillary Barrow (Miami, Fla.) blasted her first career grand slam as the UCF softball team defeated visiting Cornell, 7-2, Thursday afternoon at the UCF Softball Complex. The senior went 2-for-4 at the plate with a career-best four RBI and two runs scored in the contest.
"The first pitch I took in that at bat was outside, so I knew I just had to have patience and wait for my pitch," Barrow said. "When I saw my pitch I just went with it. I didn't even know that it was over. I was just focused on scoring as many runners as I could."
Barrow's team-leading five home runs are a career-high for the third baseman, while her team-best 21 RBIs so far this season have already surpassed her 2009 total of 20.
Senior Morgan Bullard (Columbia, S.C.) and Tiffany Lane (Moreno Valley, Calif.) also notched two hits for the Black and Gold in the contest, with Bullard scoring a run and Lane posting a RBI.
Also contributing to UCF's nine total hits were Abby McClain (Waterloo, Iowa), Natalie Land (Mayo, Fla.) and Vanessa Perez (San Diego, Calif.). Both McClain and Perez scored a run, while Land reached base three different times in the outing, recording a RBI, scoring a run and drawing a pair of walks.
The win in the circle for the Knights went to senior Kristina DeMello (Mead, Wash.) The hurler allowed only one earned run on five hits and struck out five in six innings of work. The victory improved DeMello's record to 3-4 on the year and dropped her ERA to a 2.24.
Diana Rojas (Miami, Fla.) closed out the game for UCF, allowing one hit in one inning of relief.
UCF jumped on Cornell early in the contest, scoring in the first inning on a Barrow single, an Arielle Palafox (Lakewod, Calif.) walk and a RBI single up the middle by Lane.
The Knights were not done there, however, as they posted five runs in the second inning. Bullard and McClain started off the frame with back-to-back, two-out singles, before Land drew a walk to load the bases. That is when Barrow took the third pitch delivered by Tomlinson over the left centerfield wall for her first career grand slam.
UCF would once again load the bases in the frame after Palafox reached on a fielding error, advanced to second on a single by Lane and moved to third on a walk allowed to Marissa Menendez (Tampa, Fla.). With Mary Helen Tyler (Marianna, Fla.) at the plate, a wild pitch past the catcher gave Palafox the green light to touch home and put the Black and Gold up by six.
Cornell managed to plate a single run in the fourth inning on a single, an illegal pitch, a fielding error and a wild pitch to cut UCF's lead to five, but the Black and Gold answered back with anther two-out run in the fifth.
Perez started thing off in the inning with a two-out single up the middle, which was followed by a single to left field by Bullard. With runners at first and second, back-to-back walks allowed to Lindsey Palulis (Orlando, Fla.) and Land brought in the seventh and final run for the Black and Gold.
UCF takes to the field this weekend in Conference USA action, as it travels to Hattiesburg, Miss., to tangle with Southern Miss in its first league road trip of the year. The series kicks off with a 2 p.m. ET doubleheader Saturday, before concluding with a 1 p.m. ET contest Sunday.
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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