May 17, 2012
UCF Athletics Social Media Directory
By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Just when UCF senior shortstop Natalie Land thought that time had run out on her collegiate softball career, the NCAA selection committee gave her a reprieve.
A UCF team with 39 victories, a landmark shutout of the University of Florida and 10 wins against NCAA Tournament teams struggled down the stretch and was unsure of whether it would earn a postseason bid. But the Knights' solid RPI of 41 helped them qualify for the NCAA regionals and gave Land, one of the program's all-time best players, a chance to add to her achievements and spend more time with her teammates.
I was 50-50 as to whether we'd get in, and I didn't want to get my hopes up too high. But when I saw it on the screen (during the selection show), there was a little shock and a lot of excitement, Land said. I've really come to know now that every time I put on this UCF jersey that it could be the last time. Hopefully, it won't be, so there's a greater sense of appreciation for the game and a feeling that we have to win.
UCF (39-17) will face USF (45-11) at 3:30 p.m. Friday in Gainesville in NCAA Regional play. Florida (46-11) and Florida Gulf Coast (37-22) will play in the other half of the bracket on Friday.
Four teams from Conference USA made the tournament, and the Knights were the last of them to be announced on Sunday night.
For us watching it, it was the last bracket that they showed, so it was 45 minutes of waiting,'' UCF head coach Renee Luers-Gillispie said. When they flashed on Florida and Florida Gulf Coast, it seemed like it paused for about 30 minutes until they showed the other side of the bracket. Then, we could take a deep breath and know we were in. We talked all year about not having to rely on the committee to put us in. It put a lot more pressure on us as coaches and players, but we're in.''
It will be the first meeting between UCF and USF since the 2008 NCAA Regional. The Knights won that game 3-2 on a dramatic two-run triple by Allison Kime in the top of the sixth inning. This is UCF's fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament and the third time it will be facing USF.
Friday's game should provide an epic pitching matchup. USF's Sara Nevins, a 6-foot sophomore lefthander, was 25-4 this season with three no-hitters. She ranked third in the nation in ERA (0.99) and eighth in wins (25), while striking out 254 batters in 198 1/3 innings.
She is very tough. She has a slider that comes in hard, and she has a backdoor curve that comes in on the outside part of the plate for strikes, Luers-Gillispie said. The break on the curveball is probably a foot, so you have to be patient with her and play the small game. She's throwing 65-to-70 miles per hour. She's going to be tough, and we'll have to make the small game work for us.
UCF will counter with fabulous freshman Mackenzie Audas, who was 21-10 with a 1.21 ERA. She had a stellar 3.5 to 1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (261-75). And she showed off her big-game moxie last month by throwing a two-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts against Florida. With a victory on Friday, the Knights could face Florida in a rematch on Saturday.
I don't relive that game a lot, but I do remember it. It's one of those games that will stay with me for a long time,'' Audas said. It was one of the highlights of my freshman year because that was a really big game. That game showed that our whole team can come through in big games as long as we play to our level.
The trip to Gainesville will be somewhat of a homecoming for Land, who hails from Mayo some 60 miles away. Several of her family members attended Florida, including her uncle, Kerwin Bell, who starred at quarterback for the Gators. The 2-0 home defeat of Florida earlier this season was a moment that Land won't soon forget.
``We had a great crowd, and it was amazing to play a top team like Florida and beat them. We came so close to beating them last year and this season there was a sense of urgency there for us, Land said. To finish it off and win it this time, it was a great feeling.
Land leads UCF in hitting (.342), runs (51), hits (63), triples (five), home runs (eight), on-base percentage (.413) and stolen bases (41). She is the only player in program history with at least 200 hits and 100 steals, and she will go down in the record books as one most successful players in school history.
As for Audas, she's just starting her UCF career, and she will be the face of the program for years to come. She's eager to bounce back from a poor outing in the C-USA Tournament and lead the Knights to success in the NCAA Tournament.
In Birmingham, I had a bad game for sure. It just makes me want to work harder to prepare for the game on Friday, Audas said. When I was younger, bad games would really bother me. But one of the biggest things that my pitching coach, Kaci Clark, taught me was to set aside a set period of time to … be mad about it - but after that you have to move on. I've learned to do that, and I'll be ready for Friday.
John Denton's Knights Insider appears on UCFAthletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.