Feb. 27, 2013
UCF Athletics Social Media Directory
By Andrew Jennette
UCFAthletics.com
DELAND, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF softball team took on a familiar foe in Stetson on Wednesday night at Patricia Wilson Field. Playing the Hatters for the 21st time in program history, the Knights (10-7) used strong pitching and a three-run fourth inning to defeat Stetson 3-0.
Sophomore Mackenzie Audas had one of her strongest performances of the season as she threw her second-shutout of the year. Audas allowed just four hits and one walk while striking out nine. The Plant City native lowered her ERA to 2.43 and now has 62 strikeouts in 63.1 innings pitched.
UCF broke through in the top of the fourth with three runs as freshman Jasmine Acevedo led off the inning with her second double of the game. After a single by sophomore Farrah Sullivan put runners on the corners, senior Lauren Aldridge was tabbed to pinch run for Sullivan. Taking off on the first pitch, Aldridge stole second and forced an errant throw into center that allowed Acevedo to walk home.
After a walk put two runners on, freshman Samantha McCloskey ripped a RBI single up the middle to make it 2-0. Later in the inning, sophomore Maddy Schroeder showed off some impressive speed as she poked a ball down the first baseline and reached on an infield RBI single. Schroeder also stole a pair of bases in the game as the Knights now have 41 swipes on the year.
Defensively, the Knights quieted the crowd in the bottom half of the fourth with a perfectly-executed relay play at the plate. Stetson dropped a double into right field and freshman Mariah Garcia fielded it clean and threw in to her cut sophomore Kahley Novak. Novak turned and wheeled in one motion a perfect strike to the plate to nail the runner at the plate and maintain the shutout.
The Knights return to action Friday as the annual UCF Spring Fling tournament gets underway beginning at 9:30 a.m. UCF plays four times against Penn, Ole Miss and future BIG EAST foes UConn and Villanova over the three-day, 13-game event.
The Black and Gold have 21 home games remaining at the UCF Softball Complex, with season tickets for the 2013 season costing only $30. Single game and season tickets are available for purchase online at UCFAthletics.com and Ticketmaster.com, or by calling the UCF Athletics Ticket Office at (407) UCF-1000.