Weekend Notes
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The North Florida softball team (4-6), currently 4-1 in last five games, will travel to Orlando, Fla. for the UCF/Courtyard by Marriott Invitational, Feb. 25-27, at the UCF Softball Complex. The Ospreys will compete against Villanova, No. 7/9 Michigan, Maine, Missouri-Kansas City and UCF for a total of five games this weekend. The first game of the tournament will pit Villanova and Maine at 9 a.m. on Friday. North Florida's first game is against Villanova at 11 a.m. on Friday.
LAST TIME OUT
North Florida competed at the Quality Inn Classic, Feb. 19-20, in Troy, Ala. where it won three of its four games over the weekend. On Friday, the Ospreys swept its doubleheader with a victory against Samford, 3-2, and a win over Central Arkansas in eight innings, 4-3. The following day, North Florida split by falling to Bradley, 5-3, but followed up with a seventh-inning rally victory over host Troy, 3-2. As a team, the Ospreys scored 13 runs, outscoring its opponents by one run (12) on the weekend.
WHO TO WATCH
North Florida freshman Mariah Reynolds and sophomore Jackie Reese led the squad over last weekend, batting .429 and .400, respectively. Reynolds, along with freshman Marissa Thomas, earned All-Tournament honors. Reynolds smacked two home runs on the weekend in addition to legging out a double to go along with her six RBI and two runs. Reese also went deep twice and legged out a double last weekend, tallying three RBI and four runs. In the circle, freshman Cortney Radke has been outstanding during the young year, pitching against four top-35 teams and carrying a 2.82 ERA into this weekend. Radke has fanned 56 batters while walking 25 in 54.2 innings of work, allowing 22 earned runs on 46 hits. In Radke's last trip to the UCF Softball Complex, the rookie sat down a school-record tying 16 UCF Knights on strikes in a complete game effort, while shutting out the Knights in a 2-0 victory.
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Villanova: Villanova (3-2) is fresh off a 5-2 victory over A-Sun foe Florida Gulf Coast and also defeated South Carolina, 2-1, for its two wins in 2011 - all five of the Wildcats' games were played at the Florida Gulf Coast Tournament in Fort Myers, Fla. this past weekend. As a team, the Wildcats are batting .209, while holding opponents to a .220 clip. Junior pitcher Molly Manning (1-1) leads Villanova in the circle with 0.91 ERA, allowing just two earned runs on 11 hits in three appearances.
Michigan: The No. 7/9 Michigan squad (10-0) headlines the field this weekend and has run-ruled three teams this season - two in five innings and one in six. The Wolverines are outscoring opponents, 88-15, while hitting at a .347 clip and holding opponents to a .154 average. Senior hurler Jordan Taylor (5-0), a 2010 Second-Team All-American, leads Michigan into the weekend with a 0.58 ERA, sitting down 52 batters in 36.1 innings in the circle. Taylor has allowed just three earned runs on a total of 14 hits, and has shutout three opponents already this year. Taylor carried a perfect game into the sixth inning against Ohio on Feb. 12 before giving up two singles in the final frame. Six days later on Feb. 18, the senior tossed a 13-strikeout no-hitter in a 6-0 win over Long Island. The Wolverines have three batting over .400, led by senior Dorian Shaw, also a 2010 Second-Team All-American, who holds a .538 average with a 1.231 slugging percentage. Shaw has smacked six home runs on 14 hits, and has scored 12 runs to go along with her 14 RBI.
Maine: The University of Maine softball team (2-3) opened its 2011 season over the weekend at Ragin' Cajuns Invitational in Lafayette, La. The Black Bears lost to host, and then No. 19, Louisiana-Lafayette in its season-opener in five innings, 11-0. On Saturday, freshman Meghan McLain went 1-for-3 with a three-run deep ball to lead Maine to its first victory of the season over Tennessee State, 7-3. Maine claimed its second victory on Sunday, defeating Stephen F. Austin, 6-5. As a team, the Black Bears are batting .164 with just 16 hits in 116 at bats. Junior pitcher Ashley Kelley (1-3) has gotten most of the work pitching, with 19.1 innings of work in which she has allowed 14 earned runs on 33 hits.
Missouri-Kansas City: The UMKC softball team (6-3) brings the second-best overall record of the tournament participants into the weekend and has scored a total of 48 runs on the year, though it has surrendered 36 to opponents. Emily Ott leads the Roos in the batters box with a .533 average, tallying 16 hits with one triple, five doubles and seven RBI. Also helping the Roos is Megan Ussary who has 14 hits on the year, hitting .438 with one home run, one double and a team-leading 12 RBI. In the circle, Deanna Friese carries a 2.24 ERA into the weekend with a record of 5-2. Friese has tallied 55 strikeouts in 40.2 innings of work, allowing 13 earned runs on 27 hits.
UCF: UCF (3-7) will play host to the tournament this weekend and have dropped three of its last five games. The Knights are being outscored 45-33 on the season though the squad is hanging in at home, only being outscored 17-16. UCF is led by junior Allie Jest who is currently boasting a .400 average, including a triple and double on 10 hits. The Knights have had four different pitchers see time in the circle this year with Haley Douglas holding the lowest ERA (2.74) and working the most innings on the squad in her six appearances - three starts. Douglas has allowed nine earned runs this year on 22 hits in 23 innings of work, fanning just 12 batters.
SERIES HISTORY
Villanova: North Florida last faced Villanova on Feb. 12, 2010, falling by a score of 4-2 - the game was played at UCF in the UCF Early Bird Tournament. The only other meeting was in the same tournament in 2009 on Feb. 14 in which the Ospreys claimed a 4-3 victory. The series is currently knotted at 1-1.
Michigan: This will be the first time the two programs have met each other in softball play.
Maine: The Ospreys will look to remain undefeated against the Black Bears. North Florida holds a 2-0 series advantaged over Maine. The last time these two schools played each other was in a doubleheader on March 14, 2007 in Jacksonville when North Florida took the first game 3-1 before shutting out Maine, 9-0, in five innings in the second game.
Missouri-Kansas City: This will be the first time the two programs have met each other in softball play.
UCF: North Florida will face UCF for the second time this season. The Ospreys won that game, 2-0, on Feb. 16 behind freshman pitcher Cortney Radke's school-record tying 16 strikeouts. North Florida scored the only runs of the game in the top of the seventh inning. Prior to that, UCF had taken five of the past six matchups. UCF leads the all-time series, dating back to 2007, against the Ospreys, 6-3.
OSPREYS LOOK TO COMPETE AGAINST THE BEST IN TOUGH SCHEDULE
Coach Hickey did her best this season to challenge her squad prior to conference play with a challenging out of conference schedule. The Ospreys will play a total of 16 games against 10 teams that made the 2010 Division 1 NCAA Tournament, including Michigan which advanced as far as the NCAA Super Regional last season. In addition, North Florida will face eight preseason nationally-ranked squads, including No. 8 Michigan, No. 22 Ohio State and No. 23 Florida State.
NEXT TIME OUT
The Ospreys will host Florida A&M in its home opener on Wednesday, March 2, at the UNF Softball Complex. The teams will play a double header with the first game scheduled for a 4 p.m. (ET) start.
