ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – After appearing in five tournaments to start the year, UCF welcomes No. 14 Baylor for a three-game set before beginning American Athletic Conference play. The series begins on Friday at 6 p.m. with the first 100 fans in attendance receiving a Knightro March Bobblehead (St. Patrick's Day Theme).
The first pitch on Saturday is set for 2 p.m. with the Knights holding their Friends of Jaclyn Day. Softball Bingo, along with player trading cards and a postgame autograph sessions, is slated for 1 p.m. Sunday.
The matchup with the Bears is the first time that the Knights have welcomed a Top 25 program to the UCF Softball Complex for a three-game series. The Black and Gold are currently 2-1 against Big 12 foes this year, with a win over Texas Tech and a doubleheader split vs. Iowa State.
UCF
The Knights (14-10) are coming off an 11-3 six-inning victory against Iowa State, where UCF scored five runs in the final frame to implement the run rule. Freshman Jazmine Esparza went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI to spark the UCF offense.
The Knights have a quartet of players – Linnea Goodman (.379), Courtney Rotton (.348), Megan Greenwell (.311) and Cassady Brewer (.311) – that have posted at least a .300 batting average. Freshman Tamesha Glover and Rotton have each blasted two homers, while a team-best 14 RBI have been driven in by Rotton.
Against Iowa State, freshman Damara Begin notched her first-career victory. The leader in the circle is freshman Alea White (7-6), who has fanned 46 batters over 77.2 frames. A 2.39 ERA with 22 strikeouts over 45.1 innings of work has been recorded by freshman Kamryn Toney (4-2).
UCF has swiped 49 bases on the season and ranks 16th nationally in stolen bases per game at 2.04. Greenwell is 14-for-14 in stolen bases to lead the team.
Baylor
The Bears are 23-4 on the campaign and ranked No. 14 in the USA Today/NFCA Poll and No. 15 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25. Baylor has posted notable victories against Northwestern, Tulsa, Arizona State, Michigan, Washington, UCLA and Louisiana-Lafayette.
The offense is paced by Kyla Walker and Lindsey Cargil with .437 and .425 batting averages, respectively, while six hitters are batting over.300 on the season. A team-leading five home runs and 21 RBI each have been tallied by Shelby Friudenberg and Shelby McGlaun.
Kelsee Selman (11-2) has posted a 1.45 ERA with 61 strikeouts in 77.1 innings of work to pace the squad. An unblemished 7-0 has been registered by Gia Rodoni, who has fanned 74 batters in 59.2 frames. Picking up five victories and compiled a 1.94 ERA is Shelby McGlaun, who has notched 43 strikeouts in 43.1 innings.
Series History
Baylor leads the all-time series with a 3-1 mark after sweeping a three-game set in Waco last year by scores of 3-1, 2-0 and 3-0. The Knights won the first meeting in Orlando, 3-0, on March 12, 2008.
Next Up
The Knights welcome No. 1 Florida State on Wednesday with the first pitch slated for 5:30 p.m. A standing room only crowd is expected, so please be sure to purchase tickets in advance to guarantee your seats to the matchup.
Season tickets for the 2017 campaign start at $50 for adults and $25 for youth (ages 2-17). For more information about season and individual game tickets, click here.
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