| #20 UCF at North Florida Wed., Apr. 6, 6:00 p.m. WATCH | LIVE STATS | Memphis vs. #20 UCF Gm. 1, Fri., Apr. 8, 6:00 p.m. WATCH | LIVE STATS | Memphis vs. #20 UCF Gm. 2, Sat., Apr. 7, 2:00 p.m. WATCH | LIVE STATS | Memphis vs. #20 UCF Gm. 3, Sun., Apr. 8, Noon WATCH | LIVE STATS |
ORLANDO – The No. 20 UCF softball team will play four games in a span of five days, visiting North Florida for a midweek contest on Wednesday, followed by a return to conference play as they host Memphis from Friday to Sunday.
UCF snapped a three-game skid with a thrilling 11-inning victory over No. 5 Virginia Tech on Monday night by a score of 5-4. Shannon Doherty came up clutch again, knocking in the game-winning run on an RBI double down the right field line for her third walk-off of the season. Jada Cody still leads the nation in RBI with 53 going into Wednesday's contest. She as well still has a chance to claim the single-season record of 66 set by Stephanie Best in 2003.
Hailing from the ASUN, the Ospreys come into the contest with 29-10 record, with 23 of those wins being at home. Senior utility player Paige Pfent has posted a .368 in 39 games for the Osperys while totaling 23 RBI which leads the team. Two of UNF's pitchers hold spots in the top 20 ERA leaders in the NCAA. Senior Morgan Clausen earned her second ASUN Pitcher of the week award recently and owns an impressive 1.19 ERA through 79.2 innings pitched which is eighteenth in the country, while totaling 76 strikeouts. Junior Halle Arends has also posted a sub-2.00 ERA at 1.08, which puts her at sixteenth among the national leaders.
The Knights and the Ospreys have faced off 21 times in their history, with the Black and Gold having the advantage with a 15-6 overall record.
UCF will then return home to host Memphis in conference play starting on Friday. Memphis has a 13-23 record overall and is 1-5 in AAC play. Senior outfielder Gracie Morton has a .404 batting average in 33 games and leads the team with 44 hits. Her 44 hits also put her at second in the conference and seventh in the nation. Morton was also recently named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll for the third time this season. Pitcher Halle Siems leads the teams in ERA (3.19), Wins (6), Innings pitched (105.1) and strikeouts (79). Opponents are hitting .310 against the Tigers, while the overall team batting average is .267. The pitching has struggled as the team ERA of 4.29 is 205th in the nation.
A new set of rankings dropped on Tuesday. Three of the four major polls didn't include UCF's win on Monday night. The USA Softball poll as well as Softball America have the Knights at No. 20 while the NFCA and D1Softball rankings have them at No. 23. The Black and Gold are 11th in the latest RPI, which does include last night's victory.
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