April 22, 2011
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By Sarah Tarasewicz
UCFAthletics.com
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF softball team dropped a pair of Conference USA contests at Memphis (30-10, 10-6 C-USA), 3-0 and 4-1, in a doubleheader at Tiger Softball Complex Friday evening to fall to 18-27 on the season and 8-9 in league play.
Game One - UCF 0, Memphis 3 | Box Score
The Knights were not able to come back from an early three-run deficit as they fell to the home team, 3-0, in the opening game of the doubleheader.
UCF tallied three hits against the Tigers' starter Carly Hummel, with Natalie Land (Mayo, Fla.) posting the team's lone extra-base hit with a double in the sixth inning. Marissa Menendez (Tampa, Fla.) singled and walked once, while Patrice Fee (Cocoa, Fla.) added a single in the third inning.
Kellie Todd (Ocala, Fla.) and Abby McClain (Waterloo, Iowa) also reached base in the contest with a pair of walks.
The loss in the circle went to Diana Rojas (Miami, Fla.), as the senior allowed three runs on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts to fall to 7-10 on the season.
The Tigers scored all three of their runs in the bottom of the first inning on a double, a sacrifice hit, a RBI single and a two-run home run by Jessica Phillips.
Following that frame, Rojas regrouped to hold Memphis scoreless and hitless for the remaining five innings. But, the Knights were not able to capitalize on scoring opportunities in the second, fourth and sixth innings to fall to 18-26 on the year and 8-8 in league play, stranding five runners on base.
Game Two - UCF 1, Memphis 4 | Box Score
The Black and Gold staged a seventh inning comeback, posting a single run on three hits, in the nightcap of its league doubleheader, but eventually dropped the contest to the Tigers, 4-1.
Todd led the Knights at the plate with two hits, including a double in the seventh, while Menendez, Fee, Tawny Swan (Gilbert, Ariz.) and Vanessa Perez (San Diego, Calif.) accounted for the Knights' additional four base knocks. Menendez added a pair of walks and Land also drew a base-on-balls in the contest.
Senior Ashley Schmitt (Tampa, Fla.) was tagged with the loss in the circle after allowing four runs on nine hits with a walk and three strikeouts in a complete-game outing. With the defeat, Schmitt fell to 1-5 on the year.
In the seventh, Menendez led off the frame with a walk, and Todd followed with a double to left centerfield. On the play, Menendez was caught straying a little too far from the bag to put one out on the board, but Swan and Fee posted back-to-back singles to load the bases for the Black and Gold. Perez was hit by a pitch with two outs to register a RBI and bring in UCF's lone run of the game, but a fielder's choice ended the game and stopped the Knights' rally short.
The Tigers scored a single run in the first, two in the second and one in the third, before being held scoreless in the final three innings.
Memphis and UCF conclude their league series Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.
Fans can follow all of the action from Memphis on UCFAthletics.com via Gametracker for live stats and Knights All-Access for a live video stream of each game of the series.