ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – UCF Softball is prepped for the second weekend of the season, starting the weekend at Disney's World Wide of Sports for a pair of games. The Knights will then head to the UCF Softball Complex for their home opening weekend, hosting Texas Tech, Florida A&M and Hofstra Saturday through Monday.
UCF kicks off the weekend against Northern Iowa at 2:30 p.m., which will mark the first meeting between the two. The Knights then turnaround to play LIU-Brooklyn at 5 p.m.
Saturday will mark the season opener for UCF, taking on Texas Tech at 3 p.m. and Florida A&M at 5:30 p.m. The Knights will close out the weekend at 3 p.m. on Monday against Hofstra.
RACKING UP THE WINS
Head coach Renee Luers-Gillispie is on the verge of a few milestones, needing one more win to have 800 career NCAA wins and six victories to earn UCF's 600th all-time victory. Gillispie, who has an overall coaching career record of 833-581-3, started the Knights' softball program in 2002.
Ironically, Gillispie coached at Texas Tech from 1996-2000, where she led them to back-to-back national ranked seasons and earned a NCAA Regional runner-up finish in 1999.
THE COMPETITION
Northern Iowa – 4-1 on the season; First-ever meeting
LIU-Brooklyn – 0-5 on the season; 4-0 against them all-time
Texas Tech – 1-3 on the season; 3-2 all-time, including a 13-4 triumph last season
Florida A&M – 1-2 on the season; 14-4 all-time, winning the last eight
Hofstra – 3-2 on the season; 3-2 all-time with the last meeting being 2007
RECAPPING LAST WEEKEND
The Knights capped off their opening weekend with a 3-2 record, earning victories over Illinois, Providence and Butler. The win over the Illini was the highlight of the weekend, pulling off a come from behind triumph in extra innings, 3-2.
Cassady Brewer led the Knights offensively, hitting .353 with two doubles and scoring a pair of runs. Alea White threw 29.2 innings for UCF, finishing the weekend with a 2-2 record and tallying a save. White racked up 16 strikeouts and posted a 1.65 earned run average.
SEASON TICKETS
Season tickets for the highly-anticipated 2018 softball season are currently on sale. General admission tickets to all 21 home games are priced at $50 for adults and $25 for ages 2-17. Click here or call (407) 832-1000 for additional ticketing information.
WATCH LIVE ALL SEASON
All UCF softball games are broadcast live on UCFKnights.TV for only $7.99 a month! Sign up here to catch every pitch from the remaining 21 home games!
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