March 13, 2012
UCF Athletics Social Media Directory
By Andrew Jennette
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF softball team rallied from an early deficit Tuesday to hold off Northern Colorado, 5-4.
The Knights (17-9, 1-2 in Conference USA) and Bears exchanged the lead three times in the first three innings before UCF took the lead for good in the bottom of the third on a two-run home run by Alena Murgatroyd (Lancaster, Calif.)
Seniors Vanessa Perez (San Diego, Calif.), Natalie Land (Mayo, Fla.) and Ali Schmidt (Cordova, Md.) all played critical roles in the Knights' victory.
Perez went 2-for-3 and gave the Knights an early 2-1 lead with a two-run single to center in the first inning. The centerfielder raised her batting average to .288, and she maintains a team-best .402 on-base percentage.
Land went 3-4 with an RBI and a run scored. She just missed a home run in the second inning as she hit a triple off the wall to plate the Knights' third run of the game. Land also was a perfect 3-for-3 in stolen base attempts and now has stolen 14 bases while being caught just once all season.
Schmidt relieved junior Alex Hartshorn (Tampa, Fla.) and pitched two scoreless innings for her third save of the season. Schmidt lowered her ERA to a team-best 1.47 as she shut down the Bears.
Hartshorn picked up her fourth victory of the season as she scattered nine hits and three earned runs in five innings. She matched her career high with six strikeouts.
Although the seniors dominated throughout, Murgatroyd, a junior, provided the biggest hit of the game for the Knights. She hammered a two-run home run to left in the third to give the Knights the lead for good. The home run was Murgatroyd's second of the season.
UCF returns to action Wednesday as they take on Northern Illinois and Iona in a round-robin tournament doubleheader. The action begins at 4 p.m. and continues at 6:30 p.m.
Upcoming home games include an April 11 contest against in-state rival Florida. Season tickets are now $25 and are available online at UCFAthletics.com and Ticketmaster.com or by calling the UCF Athletics Ticket Office at (407) 823-1000.
UCF fans can follow all of the action on UCF All-Access with live video and audio. Fans also can follow UCFAthletics.com's Gametracker as well as www.twitter.com/UCF_Softball.