H2Orange
Deputy
Slow morning at the house, so I decided to read up on the weekend series with UCF. Here is what I learned...
UCF is 14-8 overall and has yet to play a true road game. They opened the conference season with a 2-1 series win over Kansas. They did travel to California for the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic where they lost 4 of 5 games, all to ranked teams. UCF and OSU have one common opponent this season, Wisconsin, and both of those games were played in Clearwater. UCF beat Wisconsin 21-9, while OSU beat the Badgers 9-5. UCF is coached by Cindy Ball-Malone who came to UCF from Boise State. The Knights were 40-21 last season and went 1-2 as the #3 seed in the Tallahassee Regional.
UCF came to Stillwater last season and faced the Cowgirls twice in the Oklahoma State Tournament. Cowgirls won both games, 4-0 on a complete game two-hit shutout by Adcock, and a 9-4 come from behind win in which the Cowgirls trailed 3-1 before scoring 8 times in the last three innings.
Statistically, UCF has a .318 team BA, .378 OBP, 2.64 team ERA, .240 opponents BA. They have hit only 12 homeruns, but have stolen 44 bases on 49 attempts. By comparison, OSU has a .339 BA, .413 OBP, 1.47 ERA, and .189 OBA. Cowgirls have 34 homeruns and are 28 of 34 in stolen bases. Interestingly, if you take out the Wisconsin game where UCF had 21 runs, 25 hits, and 4 homeruns, their team BA drops to .296 with eight homeruns in 21 games. Both teams have a .982 fielding percentage. OSU has thrown out 5 of 11 would-be base stealers, while UCF has only thrown out 2 of 19.
UCF's best pitcher is Sara Willis. She is 4-3 this season with a 2.19 ERA, .228 OBA, 1.16 whip, and 7.8 K/7. She transferred from Washington two years ago and was 19-4 at UCF last year with a 1.65 ERA. She was a unanimous all-AAC selection. Willis pitched the first game against KU allowing a lead-off homerun, but pitched a complete game giving 4 hits and striking out nine. Willis also plays a lot of games in the outfield. I would expect her to start game one with Kaitlyn Felton starting game two. Felton is 6-2 with a 2.41 ERA, .271 OBA, 1.35 whip, and 4.6 K/7. She pitched game two against KU, which went 8 innings. She went the distance allowing two runs on 10 hits, with two walks and four strikeouts. Felton pitched the 4-0 loss to OSU last season. Neither Willis or Felton pitched in the third game against KU, which was a surprise. KU won that game 1-0 with only one hit. The KU pitcher who gave up 7 runs in the first game pitched a complete game shutout.
This is a series we should sweep, but we will need to throw strikes, play good defense, and put the ball in play. UCF appears to be built around speed and defense, which shouldn't be a surprise given their central Florida location. Willis will be tough in game one.
UCF is 14-8 overall and has yet to play a true road game. They opened the conference season with a 2-1 series win over Kansas. They did travel to California for the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic where they lost 4 of 5 games, all to ranked teams. UCF and OSU have one common opponent this season, Wisconsin, and both of those games were played in Clearwater. UCF beat Wisconsin 21-9, while OSU beat the Badgers 9-5. UCF is coached by Cindy Ball-Malone who came to UCF from Boise State. The Knights were 40-21 last season and went 1-2 as the #3 seed in the Tallahassee Regional.
UCF came to Stillwater last season and faced the Cowgirls twice in the Oklahoma State Tournament. Cowgirls won both games, 4-0 on a complete game two-hit shutout by Adcock, and a 9-4 come from behind win in which the Cowgirls trailed 3-1 before scoring 8 times in the last three innings.
Statistically, UCF has a .318 team BA, .378 OBP, 2.64 team ERA, .240 opponents BA. They have hit only 12 homeruns, but have stolen 44 bases on 49 attempts. By comparison, OSU has a .339 BA, .413 OBP, 1.47 ERA, and .189 OBA. Cowgirls have 34 homeruns and are 28 of 34 in stolen bases. Interestingly, if you take out the Wisconsin game where UCF had 21 runs, 25 hits, and 4 homeruns, their team BA drops to .296 with eight homeruns in 21 games. Both teams have a .982 fielding percentage. OSU has thrown out 5 of 11 would-be base stealers, while UCF has only thrown out 2 of 19.
UCF's best pitcher is Sara Willis. She is 4-3 this season with a 2.19 ERA, .228 OBA, 1.16 whip, and 7.8 K/7. She transferred from Washington two years ago and was 19-4 at UCF last year with a 1.65 ERA. She was a unanimous all-AAC selection. Willis pitched the first game against KU allowing a lead-off homerun, but pitched a complete game giving 4 hits and striking out nine. Willis also plays a lot of games in the outfield. I would expect her to start game one with Kaitlyn Felton starting game two. Felton is 6-2 with a 2.41 ERA, .271 OBA, 1.35 whip, and 4.6 K/7. She pitched game two against KU, which went 8 innings. She went the distance allowing two runs on 10 hits, with two walks and four strikeouts. Felton pitched the 4-0 loss to OSU last season. Neither Willis or Felton pitched in the third game against KU, which was a surprise. KU won that game 1-0 with only one hit. The KU pitcher who gave up 7 runs in the first game pitched a complete game shutout.
This is a series we should sweep, but we will need to throw strikes, play good defense, and put the ball in play. UCF appears to be built around speed and defense, which shouldn't be a surprise given their central Florida location. Willis will be tough in game one.
