March 8, 2013
UCF Athletics Social Media Directory
By Andrew Jennette
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF softball team kicks off Conference USA action at home with a three-game series this weekend against UAB on Saturday and Sunday at the UCF Softball Complex. The Knights are currently in the midst of a season-long 11 game homestand and will look to get conference play started strong.
The Knights (14-9) will play the Blazers (8-5) in a Saturday doubleheader at 1 and 3 p.m. On Sunday, the Knights will close the series with a nationally-televised broadcast at 11:30 a.m. The game can be found on Fox Sports Networks with Bernie Guenther and Tracy Warren on the call.
UCF fans can follow all of Saturday's action on UCF All-Access with live video and the voice of UCF softball, Eric Lopez. Sunday's contest will be audio only. Fans can also follow all three contests on UCFAthletics.com Gametracker as well as in-game updates on our official Twitter account www.twitter.com/UCF_Softball. Sunday's contest is also Oviedo Babe Ruth Softball Day. All youth players get in FREE (with uniform) with adults tickets costing $5 (with $2 of every ticket going back to Oviedo Babe Ruth). After the game, youth players will be able to run the bases and the team will hold an autograph session with players after the game.
It's a classic speed v. power matchup as UAB leads the league with 12 team homeruns in just 13 games played. Blazers catcher Anna Kimbrell leads both her team and the league in slugging percentage with a mark of 1.071, and also sits in a tie for first in C-USA for home runs with six. On the other side of the coin, the Knights are overwhelmingly pacing the field in stolen bases, with 66 swipes in 23 contests. To compare, the Blazers have just 16 stolen bases as a team on the year. Sophomore Kahley Novak has proven to be a monster on the base paths as her 22 steals is currently doubling second place.
Blazers senior pitcher Lauren Webster has gotten off to a tremendous start to the season. The Mathews, Ala. native began her collegiate career as a middle infielder and even earned C-USA Freshman of the Year honors in 2010 as a second baseman. Since transitioning to full-time pitcher this season, Webster is 4-1 with a 0.83 ERA in 33.2 innings pitch. She was named C-USA Pitcher of the Week for her strong performance last week.
The Black and Gold will play three of their 15 remaining home games at the UCF Softball Complex this weekend, with season tickets for the 2013 season costing only $30. Tickets are available for purchase online at UCFAthletics.com and Ticketmaster.com, or by calling the UCF Athletics Ticket Office at 407-823-1000.