March 15, 2011
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By Sarah Tarasewicz
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF softball team will conclude its 17-game homestand Wednesday when it takes on visiting Liberty at 7 p.m. at the UCF Softball Complex. The first 75 fans through the gate for the Knights' matchup with the Flames will receive a free UCF sunglass strap.
Following its Conference USA series victory over UTEP last weekend, the Black and Gold enters its non-conference meeting vs. Liberty Wednesday night with a 9-17 record on the season, while also boasting a 2-1 league record.
Junior Allie Jest (Stone Mountain, Ga.) looks to extend her program-record hitting streak to 17 games against the Flames. The third baseman leads the Knights with a .373 batting average and has posted at least one hit in 22 of her 23 games played in 2011.
Fellow junior Natalie Land (Mayo, Fla.) has also proves to be a force at the plate this season, as the second baseman leads the squad in runs scored (22), triples (5), total bases (48), slugging percentage (.600), on-base percentage (.416) and sacrifice hits (4), while boasting a .350 batting average.
In the circle, Lacey Dinney (Binbrook, Ont.) has stepped up and embraced her role as the Knights' ace in recent weeks, as evidenced by her performance last weekend in the series vs. the Miners. Dinney went 2-0 and posted a 0.50 ERA against UTEP, allowing only one run on seven hits and striking out 12 in 14.0 innings of work. In UCF's league-opener, Dinney picked up her first win of the weekend after allowing one run on four hits and fanning four, before putting together the best performance of her career Sunday. In the win, Dinney tossed her first-career complete-game shutout after giving up only three hits to the Miners, while striking out eight.
Liberty enters Wednesday's contest with a 7-5 record on the season after going 2-3 at the Stetson Classic last weekend. The Flames defeated Iowa and host Stetson, before falling to the Hawkeyes, 4-3, in the championship game. Kelly Strickland leads the team with a .317 batting average, while Katrina Johnson paces the pitching staff with a 1.28 ERA and a 3-2 record.
UCF is 2-0 all-time when playing Liberty, which includes a, 3-0, blanking of the Flames at the UCF Softball Complex in 2008.
The Knights have 12 home games remaining on their 2011 schedule, including a contest vs. in-state rival Florida State on April 6, with season tickets for the season costing only $40. Tickets are available for purchase online at UCFAthletics.com and Ticketmaster.com, or by calling the UCF Athletics Ticket Office at (407) UCF-1000.