May 22, 2010
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) -The UCF (36-22) softball team fell into the loser's bracket of the NCAA Gainesville Regional Saturday afternoon after dropping a 6-0 decision to No. 4 overall seed Florida (45-8) at Katie Seashole Pressly Softball Stadium.
The Knights will need to shake off the loss quickly, however, as they will now face the winner of FIU vs. Bethune-Cookman later this evening at 6 p.m., to determine who will play the host Gators in the regional championship game Sunday at 1 p.m.
Senior Ashleigh Cole (Pace, Fla.) was shouldered with the loss in the circle for the Black and Gold, allowing six runs on eight hits and striking out three batters in seven innings of work to fall to 24-14 on the season. Cole allowed only one walk in the contest, while throwing her 33rd complete-game of the year.
Florida hurler Stephanie Brombacher had a no-hitter going on UCF through six innings of play, before senior Hillary Barrow (Miami, Fla.) broke up the no-no with a single up the middle in the bottom of the seventh.
Barrow was the only Knight to post a hit in the contest for the Black and Gold, while both Tiffany Lane (Moreno Valley, Calif.) and Marissa Menendez (Tampa, Fla.) were each allowed a base on balls.
The Gators first touched home in the top of the first inning on a two-RBI home run off the bat of Kelsey Bruder which also brought around Michelle Moultrie who led off the frame with a double.
Florida once again had the lead-off runner reach base safely in the top of the second, but Cole struck out Tiffany DeFelice and McClain tossed out Megan Bush attempting to steal second register the double play and work its way out of the jam.
The Knights were able to hold Florida scoreless through the next three innings, but the host was able to tag on two more runs in both the fifth and seventh innings to take a six-run advantage, a gap too big for UCF to overcome.
UCF's defense was unusually shaky in the defeat, as the squad committed three errors against the Gators. The last time the Knights recorded three or more errors was on April 7 against Florida State at the UCF Softball Complex.
The regional winners will advance to super regional competition for a best-of-three series May 28-29 at eight campus sites.
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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