The UCF softball team scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning Wednesday to defeat Florida State 2-1 in dramatic fashion at the UCF Softball Complex.

Senior Diana Rojas went the distance for the Knights in the circle in front of 538 fans, as she allowed just one run on four hits to the Seminoles.

“You could just see that she had energy and confidence out there. She was just taking care of business. I think it was by far one of her best complete-games that she has had since she’s been here, and what a great way to go out there against Florida State,” said head coach Renee Luers-Gillispie.

With two outs in the final inning junior Vanessa Perez started the rally by running out a two-strike single to shortstop.

“We knew that we needed to get a runner on,” Luers-Gillispie said. “We knew that once we got a runner on in that situation we could make things happen. Vanessa did what she does best and battled at the plate until their pitcher made a mistake, and then she took advantage of it.”

Sophomore Patrice Fee then stepped up and hit a double down the left field line to bring Perez around to tie the game. Tiffany Lane was up next. She hit a grounder down the third base line and used her speed to force FSU’s Briana Hamilton to rush the throw to first, which went wide, allowing Lane to reach base safely and giving Fee enough time to score the winning run.

“I think that the fans made all the difference in the world today,” Luers-Gillispie said. “When you hear the fans cheering for you, it’s amazing what happens to our players. They really stepped up and realized that they are playing for someone other than just themselves.”

Perez, Fee and Lane accounted for all three of the Knights’ hits in the contest, with Fee tallying a double, an RBI and one run scored to pace the squad at the plate. Senior Abby McClain also reached base twice after drawing a pair of walks.

Rojas and Florida State starter Sarah Hamilton were caught in a pitcher’s duel through the first five innings of the game, as neither allowed a runner to reach third and combined to give up only three hits before the sixth inning.

The Knights return to the field this weekend in Greenville, N.C. for a three-game Conference USA series against East Carolina.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com and follow at Facebook or @OrlandoSportsJC ) –

– Men’s College Lacrosse – Lenoir-Rhyne 13, Rollins 12

Despite a program record six goals in one game by junior Austin Ricci the Rollins Tars dropped to 2-8 overall and 0-6 in the Deep South Conference on Sunday. It’s the first-ever conference win for Lenoir-Rhyne, who broke an 11-all tie with under eight minutes to play to take the lead for good.

– College Softball – UAB 5, UCF 3

The Knights allowed five runs in the third inning and never recovered as they dropped to 12-22 overall and 3-6 in Conference USA. The Blazers (24-9, 8-1 C-USA) took two of three games after splitting with UCF on Saturday.

= SATURDAY, March 26, 2011

– Arena Football League – Predators 68, Blaze 53

Orlando Predators quarterback Nick Hill went 24-of-36 for 331 yards and eight touchdowns while Rayshaun Kizer intercepted three passes and ran one back for a score Saturday night. The Predators (2-0) downed the Utah Blaze (1-1) in its first game at the new Amway Center in front of 12,186 fans.

– Women’s College Track & Field – UCF Invitational

Freshman Dominique Booker set two new school records on Saturday during the second day of competition at the UCF Invitational. Booker set a new mark in the 200-meter run with a time of 23.70, good for fourth place and enough to surpass the previous mark set by Sonnisha Williams (23.79) just last week. Booker also joined Aurieyall Scott, Sheila Paul and Tyler Smith in the 4×400-meter relay, where the group took first place with a time of 43.73 (previous mark was 45.05).

– United Soccer Leagues – Lions 2, USF 0

The Orlando City Lions wrapped up its preseason schedule Saturday in Tampa, where they got goals from Yordany Alvarez (30th minute) and Jamie Watson (60th) on assists from Devorn Jorsling in the win. The Lions finished the preseason schdule 6-2 with wins over Philadelphia Union (1-0) and Toronto FC (1-0) of Major League Soccer as well as Rollins (3-1), UCF (5-1) and Stetson (5-3). Orlando City lost to FC Dallas (1-0) and BK Hacken (3-2). The reguler season begins this weekend on the road against Richmond.

– Men’s College Tennis – UCF 4, NO. 53 DePaul 3

Facing their seventh nationally-ranked opponent in a row, the Knights clinched the win over DePaul when freshman Mitch Thams won the final two sets of a 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 match against Filip Dzanko at No. 5 singles.

= FRIDAY, March 25, 2011

– College Baseball – UCF 7, No. 23 Rice 2

Despite a school-record eight walks, freshman Ben Lively improved to 5-0 on the season while D.J. Hicks went 3-for-4 at the plate and pitched a scoreless inning in UCF’s Conference USA opener at Rice (15-10, 0-1 C-USA). Lively is the first pitcher at UCF to start the season perfect in five games since Ray Rodriguez and Darren Newlin did so in 2005. Joe Rogers picked up the save. The Knights trailed 2-0 after four innings before scoring three times in the top of the fifth. UCF turned a season-high four double plays in the win and improved to 17-5 overall and 1-0 in C-USA.

– Women’s College Track & Field – UCF Invitational

Sophomore Sonnisha Williams broke her own school record in the long jump by five-and-a-half inches to take first place in the event during the opening day of the UCF Invitational. Williams went 20-11.75/6.39m at the UCF Track and Field Complex to best the previous mark of 20-6.25/6.25m set last May at the NCAA East Regional. Competition picks back up on Saturday with Florida, Miami, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Tennessee and Rhode Island taking part.

– National Basketball Association – Magic 95, Nets 85

The Magic won its fifth game in a row after pulling away from New Jersey with just over eight minutes to play in the fouth quarter. Hedo Turkoglu went 8-for-11 from the field for 20 points, 13 assists and no turnovers in the win while Dwight Howard finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals. Already playing without J.J. Redick, Orlando (47-26) lost Jameer Nelson to a knee injury in the first half.

– College Softball – Rollins 10, Lynn 0

The Tars improved to 30-1 overall and 7-0 in the Sunshine State Conference in the opening game of its series against Lynn (6-26, 1-6 SSC). Rollins scored eight runs in the second inning as Krista Rodden, Lake Mary alum Hope Bitzer, Winter Springs alum Christine Roser and Hilary Brown drove in runs. Kristen Frame, the reigning confernce player of the week, struck out six in five innings.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com and follow at Facebook or @OrlandoSportsJC ) –

– NCAA Track and Field Championships –

UCF sent a school-record 11 student-athletes to the NCAA East Championships and came away with three who qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, beginning Wednesday in Eugene, Ore.

Sophomores Jackie Coward and Sheila Paul, and freshman Sonnisha Williams will be competing at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon from June 9-12.

Jackie Coward

Paul is scheduled to run in one of three semifinal heats of the 100-meter dash on Wednesday at 6 p.m., with the finals scheduled for Friday at 5:32 p.m. Coward competes in one of three semifinal heats of the 100-meter hurdles on Thursday night at 5:55 p.m., with the finals scheduled for Saturday at 11:09 a.m. Williams competes in the trials and finals of the long jump on Saturday starting at 9:30 a.m.

At stake are All-American accolades (finishing among the top-eight in each respective event), which would be the first for UCF in outdoor competition. The Knights have previously had four NCAA Indoor All-Americans, including Coward in 2009.

Coward is ranked seventh nationally in the 100mH with a season-best time of 12.99. She is seeded No. 11 after clocking in at 13.11 at the east championships. Paul recently ran a personal-best 11.36 and is ranked No. 16 overall entering the 100m. She is seeded No. 22 based on her time of 11.54 in the east championship finals. Williams is ranked No. 20 nationally in the long jump, No. 2 among freshman, after measuring in at a school-record jump of 20-6.25/6.25m at the east championships. She is seeded No. 18 at the event.

– Former Goalkeeper Makes Pro Soccer Debut –

Last month former UCF men’s soccer goalkeeper Sean Johnson made his professional debut for Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire, playing all 90 minutes in a 1-0 exhibition loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the opener of the Chicago Sister Cities International Cup at Toyota Park in Chicago.

Johnson, the 51st pick of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft, made three saves in the game as Clement Chantome got a shot by him in the 14th minute. A two-year starter for UCF in 2007 and 2008, Johnson became the first UCF player to be drafted by an MLS team.

“I take full responsibility,” said Johnson of the goal against. “I was in good position, the ball hit a little divot and I should’ve gotten a little bit of a better push forward and parried it away to be safe. At the end of the day, my defense knows I’ll take the goal on me.”

In 2009, Johnson passed on playing for UCF after he was selected to play with the United States U-20 National Team. He participated in the U-20 World Cup this past fall.

Aside from the outcome of his professional debut, he was just happy to get some playing time.

“It was a good opportunity,” Johnson said. “I think you learn from playing and this being my first game I think I did alright.”

– Baseball Team Nabs Five C-USA Honors –

Among the five Conference USA award winners on UCF’s baseball team, Olympia alum Chris Taladay came away with perhaps the top honor.

The third baseman was recently voted as the 2010 C-USA Freshman of the Year, becoming the first Knight to claim a C-USA individual postseason award since the Knights joined the league in 2006.

Other award winners included senior outfielders Chris Duffy and Shane Brown, who were both first team selections. Taladay joined shortstop Darnell Sweeney and relief pitcher Joe Rogers on the All-Freshman Team. All three were also named Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball.

Taladay is UCF’s first conference freshman of the year since Dee Brown was tabbed the top frosh in 2002, when the Knights competed in the Atlantic Sun.

In 2010, he ranked in the top-five of all C-USA freshmen in batting average (.352), at-bats (210), runs (49), hits (74), doubles (19), homers (eight), RBI (47), total bases (117), slugging (.557), OPS (.960) and HBP (10) while leading all freshmen in doubles, total bases, slugging and OPS.

Duffy finished with a .447 batting average, the highest in both UCF and C-USA history. He also led the league with an .850 slugging percentage, 81 RBI and 175 total bases. His 21 home runs set a UCF single-season record and his 43 all-time homers, the last of which came on a grand slam in his last at-bat, ties Bobby Kiser for the school’s career mark.

Brown ranked third in the league with a .428 batting average, which also was the fourth highest in C-USA history. His .541 on-base percentage and 22 HBP topped the conference. He sits in the top-10 in slugging (.692), runs (58), hits (89), doubles (25), total bases (144) and walks (34). In four seasons, Brown hit .363 in his career, which stands as the sixth-best batting average in UCF history.

Duffy and Brown were also named Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball All-Americans as Duffy was awarded a spot on the second team and Brown got a spot on the third team.

The last time a Knight was selected as an All-American was in 2004 when pitchers Matt Fox and Kyle Bono received the accolade. UCF has now had nine All-Americans since it turned Division I in 1985. That list includes Tim Barker in 1985, Chad Mottola in 1992 and Justin Pope, Jason Arnold and Jeremy Kurella in 2001.

Sweeney was the only Knight to start all 55 games this season, finishing 2010 with a .358 batting average, the highest of all freshmen in the league. The shortstop also collected 51 runs, 38 RBI, 14 doubles, a triple, two triples and a UCF-high 17 stolen bases.

Rogers posted a 4-2 record with a 4.50 ERA, appearing in 23 games with three starts. He converted eight save opportunities, which are tied for the third-most saves ever by a Knight. His 43 strikeouts ranked third on the UCF pitching staff.

UCF closed out its season with a 33-22 overall record and a 10-14 mark in Conference USA, which goes down as the most C-USA victories by a UCF squad since joining the league in 2006.

– Softball Team Comes Away With Six C-USA Picks –

A program-record six student-athletes earned All-Conference USA softball honors, including three selections to the league’s first team.

Tiffany Lane, Natalie Land and Ashleigh Cole were the first team picks while Hillary Barrow and Abby McClain made the second team. Marissa Menendez was named to the all-freshman team.

Lane earned a spot on the first team for the second-consecutive year after setting the C-USA record with 21 career triples. She ranked sixth nationally in 2010 with six triples and led the Knights during the regular season in triples, total bases (68) and slugging percentage (.479), while ranking second in batting average (.310), runs scored (25), hits (44), doubles (9), RBI (18) and stolen bases (12).

Land, who was named to the all-freshman team in 2009, put together an impressive sophomore season. The second baseman paced the Knights in batting average (.317), runs scored (29), hits (46), sacrifice hits (15) and stolen bases (17), and sits among the top-10 in C-USA in five different categories.

Cole put together the best season of her career in the circle in 2010. She ended the regular season with a 21-12 record, making her only the fourth pitcher in program history to tally 20 or more wins in a season. She also had a 1.53 ERA, five shutouts and 149 strikeouts in 224.2 innings pitched. Cole ranks in the league’s top-10 in eight different pitching categories.

Cole also earned a spot on the Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-Mideast Region Second Team, becoming the seventh player in program history to be named to an all-region squad.

McClain repeated as a second team selection after being voted to the squad last season. The junior started all 53 games behind the plate for UCF, catching 14 runners stealing and picking off one on the base paths. Offensively, she led UCF in on-base percentage (.399), walks (22) and times hit by pitch (6), while ranking third in batting average (.291), runs (25), hits (43), doubles (7) and home runs (2).

Barrow, one of the Knights’ five seniors, averaged a team-best 0.69 RBI per game as UCF’s No. 3 batter. The third baseman posted a team-high 36 RBI while also leading the squad in runs scored (29), doubles (10), home runs (5) and assists (122). Barrow hit her first career grand slam against Cornell at the UCF Softball Complex, while pacing UCF with eight multiple-RBI games.

Menendez batted .252 on the season with 38 hits, four doubles, three triples and one home run. She was the only freshman on the Knights’ roster to start all 53 regular-season contests, including 24 at first base, 15 as the designated player and 14 at second base. The rookie posted three-game winning RBI, including game-winners against both No. 16 Tennessee and No. 9 Alabama.

The Knights finished the regular season with a 33-20 overall record and a 16-7 league mark.

– (Contact Orlando Sports Central at JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com) –

The UCF softball team earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. (Photo by J.C. Carnahan)

UCF (35-21) meets up with Florida International (35-21) in the opening round of the Gainesville Regional at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, May 21. The No. 4 overall seed Florida Gators (43-8) take on Bethune-Cookman (32-22) afterwards at 6 p.m. in the four-team bracket, which follows a double-elimination format.

The two winners play on Saturday at 1 p.m. followed by the losers at 3:30 p.m. The loser of Saturday’s first game and the winner of the second game will battle for the last spot at 6 p.m. with the final two teams remaining returning to the field on Sunday at 1 p.m. and at 3:30 p.m., if necessary.

The Knights join the ECU Pirates and UAB as C-USA representatives in this year’s tournament.

“In eighteen years of coaching, this is the first time I have had a team earn an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament,” head coach Renee Luers-Gillispie said.  “It is so great to see C-USA being recognized as a strong Division I conference by having three teams make the tournament.”

It’s the first time in UCF’s nine-year history that they’ve earned an at-large bid and the third time in their past three tournament appearances that the Knights will be playing at Katie Seashole Pressley Stadium in Gainesville. Overall, UCF is 4-4 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and have faced Florida four times in the postseason.

The 2008 Knights C-USA Championship team, which defeated Houston in Texas to advance to the field of 64, went 3-2 in regional play that year by defeating USF, Georgia Tech and then-No. 1 Florida, but were eventually eliminated by the Gators in the regional final.

UCF has faced 12 teams this year who have qualified for the postseason and managed to come away with wins on six different occasions. Among the teams in this year’s tournament who the Knights have squared off against are No. 1 Alabama, No. 6 Georgia, No. 8 Georgia Tech and No. 15 Tennessee.

The regional winners will advance to super regional competition for a best-of-three series May 28-29 at eight different campus sites.

– (Contact Orlando Sports Central at JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com) –

Ashleigh Cole

But the season is not quite over yet for this group, who await a trip to Houston for the Conference USA Softball Championship May 13-15

A return trip to regionals is on the line for a team entering the final weekend of the regular season at UTEP with a 30-20 overall mark. The Knights are currently slotted at No. 2 in C-USA with a 13-7 league record. East Carolina sits atop the standings at 13-5.

Looking ahead, UCF Head Coach Renee Luers-Gillispie thinks the conference has done well enough this year to get three teams invited the NCAA Tournament. But she’d rather not take her chances on those odds. Winning the tournament title outright would do the trick, though, just as it did in 2008 when they defeated Houston in the finals. The Knights were then bounced from the NCAA Regional bracket after dropping two of three games to Florida.

Hillary Barrow

Last season the Knights lost a one-run game in the first round of the tournament to Marshall.

Luers-Gillispie feels as long as the team can avoid letting little distractions get the best of them the rest of the way, then their season has the potential to continue with the help of her senior class.

She recently took a moment to reflect on the careers of the five student-athletes in the Class of 2010 who are winding down their collegiate careers as Knights.

“It’s hard to see five seniors like this, who are all starting for us, leaving us,” she said. “You hope that with the kids you have coming in that they can fill those shoes but they’re pretty big shoes to fill.”

Among the seniors are players who have persevered through injuries to win starting jobs, are solid students with 4.0 grade point averages and leaders both on and off the field.

– Ashleigh Cole (P) –

Cole has stepped into the leading role this season with the sole focus of getting back to postseason play. She has struck out 141 batters in 209.2 innings and has compiled a 19-12 record with five shutouts and a 1.37 ERA while holding batters to a .196 average against her.

Morgan Bullard

“She’s one of our first four-year starting pitchers and has been such a factor for us this year,” said Luers-Gillispie.

– Morgan Bullard (LF) –

Another four-year starter, Bullard battled back from an injury-plagued junior season and has made the most of her opportunity.

“It’s so much fun to watch her play,” said Luers-Gillispie.

Her determination to stay healthy, with the help of the team trainer, has led to starts in every game this season. Bullard has 28 hits, 17 runs and 8 stolen bases this season.

– Hillary Barrow  (3B) –

Described as a fighter and the grit of this team, Barrow is a four-year starter at third base who serves as the motivational leader for the Knights.

Mary Helen Tyler

“She’s kind of the energy of this team,” said Luers-Gillispie. “She’s gives us so much inspiration. If you want somebody to get in somebody’s face, Hillary’s the one that’s gonna do it.”

Barrow is hitting .260 on 38 hits and has drove in 30 runs and scored 26 times this season.

– Mary Helen Tyler (RF) –

A transfer from Tallahassee Community College, Tyler fought her way into the lineup and rewarded the team by being flawless in the field for the Knights. She has also reached base safely on 16 hits and stolen four bases.

The spiritual leader at UCF, she is involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and her coach says she “lives by example.”

Kristina DeMello

“Everything she does out here she does for a greater purpose,” said Luers-Gillispie.

– Kristina DeMello (P) –

Perhaps the most vocal of all the Knights, Luers-Gillispie says the Miami-Dade Community College transfer has steadily improved during her time as a Knight.

DeMello has gone 7-6 with an ERA of 2.26 this season with 73 strikeouts in 96 innings.

“It’s been kind of neat to see all these seniors earning their spots and becoming such a huge factor for this team this season,” said Luers-Gillispie.

– (Game photos by J.C. Carnahan) –

Among the highlights over the course of that stretch were a 5-0 mark at the UCF Tournament, a 3-0 win over No. 22 Ohio State, and three-game sweeps over Houston, Southern Miss and Marshall.

Throw in a heartbreaking 4-3 loss in nine innings at home against No. 6 Florida and the Knights look as if they can play with anybody in the nation right about now.

At 25-17 overall and 10-4 in C-USA play with 10 letterwinners on the roster from a season ago, head coach Renee Luers-Gillispie and the Knights are in for quite a test the rest of the way.

UCF will be on the road this weekend to face UAB (24-12, 8-4) before returning home for a non-conference matchup with Bethune-Cookman on Wednesday, April 21 and a series against Tulsa (22-16, 6-3) April 24-25.

The final home game of the year is on Tuesday, May 4 against Jacksonville at 5 p.m. UCF then closes out the regular season May 8-9 at UTEP (26-14, 8-4) before C-USA Championship play begins in Houston, Texas on May 13.

–– Leading the Way ––

– Senior Ashleigh Cole is 16-10 on the year from inside the circle with an ERA of 1.49 through 26 appearances. She has struck out 120 batters in 173.2 innings and allowed just 37 earned runs on the year.

– Senior Kristina DeMello has struck out 63 batters over 82.1 innings and is 5-5 with an ERA of 1.87 through 15 appearances.

– As a team, the Knights are allowing just 1.77 runs per game on the year.

– Junior Tiffany Lane leads the team at the plate with a .305 batting average through 39 games and is currently riding a 10-game hitting streak. Lane has tallied eight doubles and six triples on 32 hits and has also driven in 13 runs and stolen nine bases thus far.

– Lane set the Conference USA record for most triples in a career earlier this season when she surpassed the 19 triples complied by Sarah Martz of DePaul between 2001-04.

– Sophomore Natalie Land is batting .296 on 34 hits with 13 RBI and 15 stolen bases while Abby McClain is hitting .283 with five doubles on 32 hits.

– Senior Hillary Barrow leads the team in RBI (26), runs (23) and home runs (5) this season.

Cole allowed just four hits to the Lady Tide last Sunday, one day after the Knights defeated Nebraska 5-4 in extra innings. Alabama made an appearance in the Women’s College World Series a season ago.

Head coach Renee Luers-Gillispie has never shied from playing nationally ranked teams, and because of that the Knights now have their second big win of the season after previously taking down No. 16 Tennessee to start the year.

In the win, the Knights got six hits from six different players as Hillary Barrow, Arielle Palafox and Marissa Menendez each drove in runs.

UCF closed out the event with a 2-3 mark after losing to No. 11 Georgia Tech, Arkansas and Maryland. They now stand at 7-8 overall.

Cole improved to 5-4 on the season in the circle while striking out three batters over seven innings of work, giving her over 300 strikeouts for her career. She also went 1-for-3 at the plate with a run scored. Cole is currently just four wins away from taking over the No. 2 spot for all-time wins in UCF softball history.

She presently sits at No. 4 all-time with 43 victories to her credit – two wins behind Dottie Cupp and four behind surpassing Lindsey Enders. Allison Kime finished her stellar career with 71 wins for the Knights.

With 19 more strikeouts, Cole will overtake Enders at No. 3 all-time on that list.

Also on the brink of an individual milestone is Tiffany Lane. The junior enters the weekend with 18 triples, just one short of matching and two short of claiming the Conference USA record for most in a career.

This weekend the Knights host the six-team UCF Tournament through Sunday at UCF Softball Complex where they’ll play five games over three days.

Participants include Boston College, College of Charleston, Georgia Southern, Harvard and Providence.

The games can be seen online at UCF Athletics.

On Saturday, UCF scored a 6-3 upset over Tennessee – ranked No. 16 in the nation – but returned home with a 1-2 mark to start the season after being blanked 12-0 by No. 7 Georgia and falling 4-2 to Chattanooga.

In the come-from-behind win over the ranked Vols, in front of 374 spectators, it was multi-hit games from junior Abby McClain (3-for-4), freshman Marissa Menendez (2-for-4) and sophomore Vanessa Perez (2-for-4) that propelled the black and gold.

Marissa Menendez

Menendez capped of the night by hitting a two-RBI single that proved to be the game-winner in the final inning while senior Hillary Barrow also drove in two and scored a run.

UCF took a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the third before giving up three runs to Tennessee and being forced to climb back. Down 3-1, it would be a late-inning rally that was needed to seal the upset. The Knights cut into the lead with a run in the top of the sixth and took the lead for good with four runs in the top of the seventh.

Ashleigh Cole

Senior Ashleigh Cole pitched a complete game while striking out eight batters and allowing just four hits to record the win.

The Knights tallied 10 hits as a team for head coach Renee Luers-Gillispie.

Against Georgia, junior Tiffany Lane connected on UCF’s only hit – the 16^th triple of her career in the first inning – while Barrow went 2-for-3 at the plate and drove in two runs against Chattanooga.

The Knights are home on Wednesday against Stetson at 5:30 p.m. and hosts the UCF Invitational this weekend, Feb. 19-21, with South Carolina, North Florida, Villanova, Troy and Florida A&M scheduled to pay a visit.

– Contact Orlando Sports Central at JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com –