The UCF Softball Complex will be filled to the brim Friday night at about 6:30 p.m. when No. 17 UCF takes on No. 5 Alabama. It is the kind of game a young program like the Knights starves for to grow the program.
It has been a fight for respect for UCF. The Knights do not have a deep softball history — the Knights have been to the NCAA tournament the past two years, the first consecutive tournament appearances in program history — and are still hoping to get a hosting slot for the NCAA Softball Tournament Regionals, an issue made more complicated by the geography of powers Florida and Florida State in the area.
Coach Renee Leurs-Gillispie has built a growing program in the American Athletic Conference, but the opportunities like the ones that come Friday and throughout this season are something this tournament has had to fight for.
The Crimson Tide will be the first of nine games against ranked teams in the first 12 games. That includes a trip to the prestigious Mary Nutter Classic next week in California. The Knights will play No. 3 LSU and No. 7 UCLA among others in the five games played over three days next weekend.
Of the ranked teams on the schedule, No. 5 Alabama, No. 19 James Madison, No. 4 Auburn, No. 10 Florida State and No. 1 Florida will all visit the UCF Softball Complex.
“That’s huge for our program,” coach Renee Leurs-Gillispie said after Thursday’s game. “Being able to fill the stands and promote our program. Being able to play against the top teams in the country. We fought to get our early ranking at 17. We tell the girls that’s the ranking we earned from last year’s team and that ranking means nothing to us right. We have to earn our own ranking. Understanding that the Alabamas and the Rutgers and the James Madisons are going to be tough for us. We have to do our part of just playing our game and keeping it simple.”
The Knights will have every opportunity to build an impressive resume with All-American Shelby Turnier likely in the circle for most of those games and a solid and balanced batting order. That ranking and the potential to host a tournament regional are very much in their own control if they can win these games — UCF will also travel to No. 16 Baylor in March.
The schedule is set up for success. But it still has to be taken.
The Knights played the Crimson Tide two years ago in Tuscaloosa and dropped both games despite the pitching from Turnier and graduated senior Mackenzie Audas (then a sophomore and junior). The team had only five games against ranked opponents last year before the tournament.
This is an opportunity the Knights have never had before. And that is what makes this 2016 season so potentially special for them.
They have earned this opportunity with the way the program has been built up the last few seasons. The opportunity is all there for them to take advantage of.
And with teams coming to Orlando and giving them that opportunity, UCF will have the chance to build something special in 2016.
It starts Friday with the matchup with Rutgers at 4:30 p.m. and No. 5 Alabama at 6:30 p.m. And the chances will keep coming for a team that should have high expectations for itself.
[…] UCF has challenged itself plenty in the early season. The team destroyed Alabama and has stood tall against some top teams as it tries to find its place in the national picture. […]