The UCF softball team knocked off No. 1 Houston over the weekend to win its first Conference USA championship and earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, which begins this weekend.
The Knights (46-18) open double-elimination play on Friday at 5 p.m. against South Florida (44-18), the Big East regular-season champs, in Gainesville. Depending on the outcome, UCF will then be matched up with either overall No. 1 Florida (62-2) or Georgia Tech (31-29) on Saturday. UCF was ranked No. 2 heading into the C-USA Championship and pulled off the upset over the Cougars, 4-2, thanks to a two-run homer in the sixth inning from tournament MVP Tiffany Lane.
In all, the Knights recorded 11 hits in the win off C-USA Pitcher of the Year Angel Shamblin, the most she allowed in a game all season. Joining Lane on the all-tournament team after also getting wins over Southern Miss, 3-2, and UTEP, 3-0, were Breanne Javier, Hillary Barrow,Allison Kime and Marquita Council.
