May 10, 2012
UCF Athletics Social Media Directory
By Andrew Jennette
UCFAthletics.com
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (UCFAthletics.com) - The fourth-seeded UCF softball team lost 6-2 to Houston in the first round of the Conference USA Championship on Thursday afternoon at the UAB Softball Field. The Knights (34-21) still hope they'll receive an at-large bid to the NCAA regionals.
"I'm proud of the fact that despite falling behind early, we battled and got a couple of runs back as we tried to rally," head coach Renee Luers-Gillispie said. "We knew Houston had a very good hitting team, and they showed that today. We didn't close the season the way we wanted last weekend and today, but hopefully our resume will be good enough to get into regionals.
Freshman Farrah Sullivan went 2-for-3 with a double and junior Alena Murgatroyd scored both of the Knights' runs to lead the offense.
The Knights and Cougars played two scoreless innings before Houston jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the third inning on a three-run homer by C-USA first-team catcher Haley Outon. UCF got a run back in the bottom of the third when Murgatroyd scored from third while senior Natalie Land stayed in a rundown between first and second.
Freshman Mackenzie Audas picked up the loss in her shortest outing of the year. Audas went 4 2/3 innings and allowed six runs, six hits and five walks. She struck out seven to increase her NCAA freshman-leading strikeout total to 261.
Senior Ali Schmidt was strong in relief. She pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit. Schmidt, who earned C-USA Co-Newcomer of the Year on Wednesday, lowered her season ERA to 1.61.
Senior Vanessa Perez picked up an RBI in the bottom of the fifth inning when she grounded into a fielder's choice with the bases loaded and one out. Perez finished her season with career highs in batting average (.281) and RBI (23).