Knights wrap up L.A. tournament going 1-3

The softball season teed off on Friday in Los Angeles at the Stacey Winsberg Memorial Tournament, where the Knights went 1-3, defeating Utah State and falling to San Diego State, No. 1-ranked UCLA, and North Dakota State.

The Knights defeated Utah State 9-6 to open their 2011 season on Friday afternoon.

With great pitching efforts by Lacey Dinney and Diana Rojas, the Knights went seven innings allowing only nine hits and four runs.

Catcher Abby McClain had five RBIs, going 2-for-3 with a home run, a single and a walk. McClain also had the game-winning RBI, who had five on the day.

"It's always great to get a win on Opening Day," said head coach Renee Luers-Gillispie in a release. "I thought our offense looked really impressive, which isn't usually typical so early in the year. Let's hope this is just a glimpse of how our offense will produce throughout the season."

After facing Utah State, the Knights took on San Diego State and UCLA  on Saturday, falling to 1-2 in the tournament after losing back-to-back games.

The Knights had seven hits, and Allie Jest went 3 for 3 but UCF couldn't put enough runs on the board.

Jest stole two bases, had a double, walked once, and scored the only run for the Knights.  Junior Natalie Land and senior Tawny Swan had hits,and Marissa Menendez had a sacrifice fly that drove in the run by Jest.

The Knights had runners in scoring position and had opportunities to put runs on the board in the third and fifth innings. With less than two outs in both, UCF stranded four runners on base.

The Aztecs added two more runs in the sixth, to finalize the score 5-1.

The Knights took an early 2-1 lead against the top-ranked Bruins. The Bruins, however, came back and got seven runs on six hits, including two home runs in the fifth inning. The game ended early due to the eight-run rule. Rojas pitched the first four innings, allowing only three runs on two hits with a pair of strikeouts.

With the defeat against UCLA, Rojas is 1-1 overall. She gave up 10 runs on eight hits, walked seven and struck out two in 4.2 total innings of work.

The Knights finished the tournament on Sunday against North Dakota State, falling 2-1.

Pitchers Lacey Dinney and Haley Douglas held NDSU to a one-hitter, but after four errors, UCF fell short.

Dinney only allowed one earned run on one hit, walking two and striking out three in 5 innings. Douglas closed out the game by allowing no runs, striking out two and walking two.

Tiffany Lane, Marissa Menendez and Vanessa Perez each added to the eight hits UCF had. Menendez had her second double of the season.

UCF jumped out to an early lead for the third time in the first four games, but errors set back the Knights' chance of coming out on top.

The Knights host their 2011 home-opener on Wednesday against North Florida at the UCF Softball Complex.

The game starts at 6 p.m. and head football coach George O'Leary will throw out the first pitch of the game.