May 17, 2008

HOUSTON 2, WASHINGTON 0
Houston advanced to the 2008 Softball Houston Regional final Saturday with a 2-0 win over Washington at Cougar Softball Stadium. Houston, the No. 8 seed nationally, improves to 52-9 and 5-4 in NCAA Regional games.

Senior Angel Shamblin improves to 34-3, including posting her 18th shutout this season. She struck out five batters and allowed just one hit in seven innings of work.

Houston put two runs on the board in the fourth inning. Junior Katie Bush started the inning with a bunt and a single from freshman Jennifer Klinkert put two runners on base. Junior Laurie Wagner hit a single to center field to score Bush and senior Amanda Grote followed it up with a single to center to load the bases. Junior Haley Valis continued the inning reaching base on a walk, scoring Klinkert.

Fresh off two dominant pitching performances from Angel Shamblin, the team will face Washington in the regional final of the 2008 NCAA Houston Softball Regional scheduled to start at Noon Sunday at Cougar Softball Stadium.

The Cougars (52-9) and Washington (29-24-1) will face off for the second time in two days. Houston defeated the Huskies 2-0 in Saturday's first game of the day behind senior pitcher Angel Shamblin. Shamblin recorded her 18th shutout this season and improved to 34-3 in the circle.

FLORIDA 3, UCF 0
UCF fell from the ranks of the unbeaten in the NCAA Gainesville Regional Saturday afternoon, falling to No. 1 Florida, 3-0, at Katie Seashole Pressly Softball Stadium. With the loss, the Knights fall to 47-19 on the season and will play the winner of USF vs. Georgia Tech at 6 p.m. tonight.

Allison Kime was tagged with the loss in the circle, allowing three runs on four hits, while striking out four. The hurler's record falls to 31-11 on the season following the defeat.

Tiffany Lane paced the Black and Gold offense going 2-for-2 from the plate. Also posting hits for the Knights were Marquita Council and Abby McClain.

UCF had numerous opportunities to take the lead from the Gators throughout the contest, stranding six runners on base, including two in both the third and the sixth innings.

The Gators started the scoring in the third inning when Corrie Brooks took a 0-1 delivery from Kime over the left field fence.

Two additional runs crossed for Florida in the sixth inning on a two-RBI single to centerfield by Francesca Enea. Lead-off batter Kim Waleszonia laid down a bunt single to start the inning and advanced to second on a wild pitch by Kime.

A sacrifice bunt from Aja Paculba moved the speedy centerfielder to third, before a walk allowed to Ali Gardiner put two runners on base. Pinch runner Le-Net Franklin stole second base on the next pitch, before Enea's single plated both runners.

The Knights posted their biggest threat in the sixth inning, with McClain and Lane leading off the frame with back-to-back one-out singles. But a fielder's choice back to the pitcher tagged McClain out at third and a grounder to second base tamed the UCF charge.

Stacey Nelson picked up the win in the circle for Florida, moving her record to 42-2 on the season, while the Gators improve to 64-2 overall.

UCF 7, GEORGIA TECH 1
Tiffany Lane put on a fireworks display in Gainesville, Fla., going 4-for-4 with two triples, a double, two runs scored and a RBI to lead the UCF softball team to a 7-1 win over Georgia Tech Saturday night and its first appearance in a NCAA Regional final. The Knights will face No. 1 Florida for the second time in as many days in the NCAA Gainesville Regional final Sunday at 1 p.m., with the winner heading to the NCAA Super Regional.

With the win, UCF tallied 48 wins on the season, breaking the program-record for wins in a season set by the 2005 squad. As a team, the Knights scattered 12 hits in the contest, the most since posting 12 in a win at Florida International on March 26 and their third-highest mark this season.

Hillary Barrow put together an impressive performance at the plate for the Black and Gold, going 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI, while Lindsay Dean posted two hits and scored the second run of the game in the third inning.

Allison Kime earned the win in the circle for the Black and Gold, improving her record to 33-11 on the season. The fire-baller held the Yellow Jackets scoreless, allowing only two hits and striking out two in 4.0 innings of work. Ashleigh Cole threw 3.0 innings of relief for UCF, allowing one run on three hits.

The Knights did not wait long to put a run on the board, with Lane leading off the game with a double down the left field line and eventually scoring on a RBI single to left field from Barrow.

The magic in Lane's bat kept on firing in the second frame, as the freshman blasted a triple over the right fielder's head to score Dean from second base to give the Black and Gold a two-run advantage heading into the bottom half of the inning. Dean reached earlier in the inning on a single through the left side of the infield.

Lane continued to light off fireworks for the Knight, leading off the fifth inning with her second triple of the game to right centerfield. A squeeze play perfectly executed by Marquita Council allowed Lane to touch home, before Barrow demolished an offering from Georgia Tech starter Whitney Humphreys over the left-field wall to put UCF up by five runs with only one out. A walk to Kime put another base runner on for the Knights and back-to-back singles from Ashley Van Ryn and Dean pegged two additional runs onto the scoreboard.

Though UCF did not score any runs in the top of the sixth inning, it still marked a pair of milestones for both Lane and Breanne Javier. Lane led off the frame with a single, bringing her hit-total for the game to four, tying the single-game record last achieved by Javier earlier in the season in the 15-inning affair with East Carolina. Javier also surpassed a major milestone in the inning with her single to right field. The shot marked her 84th hit of 2008, breaking the single-season mark set by Stephanie Best in 2005.

The Yellow Jackets scored their only run in the bottom of the seventh on a pair of hit batters and a pair of singles.

The Black and Gold continues its run toward the Women's College World Series Sunday at 1 p.m. in the NCAA Gainesville Regional final. In order for the Knights to move on to the NCAA Super Regional, they must both games Sunday, with Florida needing two losses to be knocked out.

EAST CAROLINA 4, MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 2
East Carolina defeated Mississippi Valley State, 4-2, for its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory Saturday afternoon before 945 fans at LSU's Tiger Park.

MVSU jumped ahead in the top of the second. Angelia Jones doubled with one out which moved Megan Hays to third base. Hays had walked to lead off the inning. Then, Pirate hurler Brooke Swann unleashed a wild pitch that allowed Hays to score, putting the Devilettes ahead 1-0.

ECU responded in the bottom half of the second. Back-to-back doubles by Vanessa Moreno and Angel Barrella tied the game before Cristen Aona belted a long ball off of the scoreboard to score Barrella, making the score 3-1 in the Pirates' favor.

After Christina Merrida recorded her second infield single of the contest in the bottom of the third, she advanced to second on a Stacey Andrews groundout. With Jessica Johnson at the plate, Merrida would score from second on a botched throw to first by MVSU pitcher Nikki Stouder to increase the East Carolina lead to 4-1. Swann would allow just three hits the rest of the way to close out the game.

Swann earned her 25th win of the season, throwing her 30th complete game in 53 appearances. She struck out four while walking four, also allowing two earned runs. Merrida ended the contest 3-for-3 at the plate with a run scored to boost the offense.

LSU 9, EAST CAROLINA 1
ECU bowed out of the Baton Rouge Regional, dropping a 9-1 decision to No. 9 national seed LSU Saturday evening inside Tiger Park. The Pirates end their season at 37-30 while the Tigers improve to 44-17. LSU will have to beat No. 16 UL-Lafayette twice on Sunday to move on to the Super Regional round.

LSU scored three runs on three hits, including a sacrifice fly by Quinlan Duhon, in the bottom of the first inning to assume a 3-0 advantage. Cristen Aona would give her team a two-out double in the top of the second, but Angel Barrella struck out looking to end the half-inning. The Tigers added to their lead in the bottom of the second when with two outs, Duhon laced a shot just past Suzanne Riggs in the circle that scored Ashley Applegate, making the score 4-0. With Dee Dee Henderson on third and Duhon on first, Killian Roessner ripped a double off the wall in left center to score both runners, pushing the LSU advantage to 6-0.

ECU pulled a run back in the top of the third. Erin St. Ledger lofted the Pirates' second double of the contest to right center. She then moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Tiffany Shaw. Christina Merrida stepped up next and continued her solid day at the plate with a RBI single off the glove of pitcher Dani Hofer that scored St. Ledger, cutting the deficit to 6-1.

The Tigers added two runs on two hits and a Pirate error in the bottom of the third, extending their lead to 8-1. A two-out solo home run by Jessica Mouse in the bottom of the fourth closed the scoring as the eight-run rule ended the game.

OREGON 1, TULSA 0
Sophomore Vanessa Vice singled twice for The University of Tulsa, however it was not enough as Oregon eliminated the Golden Hurricane, 1-0 at the NCAA Norman Regional. Tulsa concludes the season with a 34-25 record and in its second regional in three years.

Sophomore Jackie Lawrence kept the Ducks off balanced for most of the contest, striking out Oregon hitters in a complete game effort. Oregon led off the sixth by reaching on a fielding error. The runner then scored on a double just inside the leftfield line that allowed the leadoff runner to score.

Vice recorded TU's first hit with an infield single in the second inning, but was forced out at second base before the Hurricane could get a rally started. She then led off the TU fifth inning with a single through the right side. After a sacrifice bunt moved Vice to second, she would advance to third on a groundout. Freshman Kelly Chapman drew a walk, then stole second base to give TU a pair of base runners in scoring position. Junior Stephanie Chomicki was hit in the foot by a pitch to load the bases. The Hurricane could not take advantage, however, as a ground out ended the inning.