The UCF Knights softball program represents the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

in the sport of

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

. The Knights compete in Division I of the

National Collegiate Athletics Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA) and the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (The American or AAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 11 member universities and five affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) ...

(The American). The Knights play their home games at the

UCF Softball Complex The UCF Knights softball program represents the University of Central Florida in the sport of softball. The Knights compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the American Athletic Conference (The American). ...

on UCF's main campus in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

. The Knights are coached by head coach Cindy Ball-Malone. In the twenty year history of the program, the Knights have won three American regular season championships, four conference tournament championships, and have nine appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

History

The UCF softball program was founded in 2002 under Renee Luers-Gillispie. The Knights played their first games on February 2, losing the first contest 2–3 to Bethune–Cookman, and winning their second game against

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

, 6–5.UCF Knights Softball History and Records
The program played its first four seasons in the

Atlantic Sun Conference The ASUN Conference, formerly the Atlantic Sun Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Divisi ...

. In their last year in the conference, the Knights won their first conference tournament championship, defeating

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

twice in one day, and made their first NCAA tournament appearance. In 2005, UCF moved to

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

, where they remained until joining the

in 2013. The UCF Softball Complex opened on March 14, 2006, with the Knights winning two games that day, a 10–9 victory over

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

and a 7–3 win over Furman.UCF Softball Complex
/ref> In 2008, Gillespie would lead the Knights to their second conference tournament championship, their first in C-USA, and their second appearance in the NCAA tournament, by defeating #9

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. During the tournament, UCF defeated #1

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

1–0. In both 2010 and 2012, Gillespie led the Knights to the NCAA tournament. In the past decade, the Knights own nine

no-hitters In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

, including two

perfect games Perfect game may refer to: Sports * Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners * Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game * Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New York ...

. The first two no-hitters in program history were perfect games, and four no-hitters were pitched by Allison Kime. Stephanie Best holds the club record for batting average with .384, home runs with 71 and triples with 13. After their careers at UCF, three Knights have played in the National Pro Fastpitch League (NPF); Stephanie Best, Allison Kime and Breanne Javier.

History

Coaches

Seasons

See also

References

External links