March 16, 2012
UCF Athletics Social Media Directory
By Andrew Jennette
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF softball team hits the road this weekend for the first time in 18 games as it travels to Southern Miss for a three-game Conference USA series.
The Knights will play the Golden Eagles in a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. ET and conclude the series Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
UCF enters the series with a 19-9 record after defeating Iona 4-3 on Wednesday at the UCF Softball Complex. Both UCF and Southern Miss are 1-2 in conference play.
UCF has featured a three-pronged attack led by freshman Mackenzie Audas (Plant City, Fla.), senior Ali Schmidt (Cordova, Md.) and junior Alex Hartshorn (Tampa, Fla.). Audas and Schmidt rank second and third in the conference with 1.49 and 1.51 ERAs respectively.
Audas has a team-best eight wins, and she leads the Knights with 13 complete games, 93 strikeouts and a .182 batting average against. Schmidt has six wins, three saves and a .200 opponents' batting average. Hartshorn has five wins and has issued a team-low nine walks on the season.
After dropping two of three in its C-USA series vs. UTEP last weekend, Southern Miss hosts the Black and Gold with a 9-12 overall record and a 6-4 record at home.
The Golden Eagles are led by freshman infielder Caroline Walker, who is hitting a team-best .408 with three doubles, two triples and nine RBI on the season. Walker also leads Southern Miss in slugging percentage.
UCF leads the all-time series between the Knights and the Golden Eagles 13-6 heading into the weekend. UCF is 5-4 all-time at Southern Miss.
The Knights have 13 home games remaining, including an April 11 contest against in-state rival Florida. Season tickets cost only $25. Tickets are available online at UCFAthletics.com and Ticketmaster.com or by calling the UCF Athletics Ticket Office at (407) UCF-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.