April 14, 2006
Box Score
Game 1 Box Score in PDF Format
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Game 2 Box Score in PDF Format
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Memphis 000 010 0 - 1 4 2
UCF 200 000 x - 2 5 1
Memphis 000 012 0 - 3 10 5
UCF 000 103 x - 4 3 1
ORLANDO, Fla. - The Memphis softball team had trouble scoring in game one and had trouble stopping the UCF offense in game two, as the Lady Tigers suffered a pair of one-run setbacks at the hands of the Golden Knights. The U of M dropped the first half of the twinbill 2-1 before falling 4-3 in the nightcap.
Jenna Kubesch posted a solid outing in the circle for Memphis in the first game of the day, but the Lady Tigers were unable to recover after giving up two first-inning runs.
Game two was a back-and-forth affair, with the U of M appearing to have the upper hand as it scored two runs in the sixth to take a 3-1 advantage. However, Memphis made five costly errors in the contest and UCF plated three unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth on a homerun by Ashley Van Ryn and claimed the victory.
The Golden Knights used three hits and a Lady Tiger error to claim their 2-0 advantage in game one. Ashley Baker picked up a sacrifice fly and Breanne Javier added a RBI single to score the runs.
Memphis cut the lead in half in the top of the fifth, plating a run to make the score 2-1. Tori Gross reached on an error to start the frame, then stole second and scored on a two-out single up the middle by Cara Stiles.
Memphis had a shot to tie the score in the top of the sixth, after a pair of two-out base hits by Melissa Nance and Kimmi Hayden, but UCF starter Allison Kime worked out of the jam and tossed a perfect seventh to seal the victory. The sophomore allowed just the one unearned run and struck out six to move to 11-13 on the year.
Kubesch took to loss, striking out four and allowing only one earned run, but dropping to 9-8 on the season.
The U of M totaled just four hits in game one, with Stiles, Nance, Hayden and Leila Dolfo picking up a base hit apiece.
In game two, Memphis starter Nicki Johnson and UCF hurler Ashley Baker kept zeros on the board until the fourth inning.
The Golden Knights nearly took the lead in the bottom of the third, but Stiles made a perfect throw to the plate to gun down Cici Alvarez when she attempted to score on a single by Javier.
UCF broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth with Magon Dean tripling and scoring when McNulty bobbled a Kacie Feaster bunt.
Lindsey Pridgen then tied the score in the top of the fifth, blasting her third homerun of the season, a solo shot to leftcenter.
The U of M took a 3-1 lead in the top of the sixth when Nance singled to center and the ball was misplayed by Kacie Feaster in centerfield, allowing Hayden and McNulty to score. Hayden had doubled to lead off the inning and moved to third on a single by McNulty.
UCF however, came right back to reclaim the lead in the bottom half of the sixth, as Brittany Walters walked, Lindsay Dean reached on an error and Ashley Van Ryn hit a two-out, three-run homerun to rightcenter to give the Golden Knights a 4-3 advantage.
Johnson took a tough loss in the circle, as she did not give up an earned run, but was haunted by the five Lady Tiger errors and the mistake to Van Ryn and fell to 9-8 on the year. Baker took the win for UCF to improve her mark to 2-8.
Memphis recorded 10 hits in game two, as Pridgen was 2-for-2 with the homerun and a double, Kara Ross was 2-for-3 with two singles and McNulty was 2-for-4 with two singles to lead the way.
With the pair of losses, the U of M falls to 21-21 on the season and 5-8 in C-USA, while UCF improves to 16-29 overall and 2-15 in league play.
The Lady Tigers and Golden Knights will complete their three-game series Saturday afternoon in Orlando, with the first pitch set for 12 p.m.
