Weather Postpones CF Softball Set at Daytona

Central Florida's scheduled Mid-Florida Conference softball doubleheader at Daytona State was postponed on Thursday. The teams will make up the games Thursday, April 7 at 4 p.m. at Daytona. The Patriots visit Lake-Sumter on Saturday and host St. Johns River on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.

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CF Patriots 4, Lake-Sumter 1 (Baseball)

The skies over Goodlett Field stayed clear just long enough for Central Florida to squeeze in a 4-1, 5-inning victory over Lake-Sumter on Wednesday.

Inclement weather caused the game to be called just after it reached the threshold of an official game, leaving Patriots starter Chase Wissman's 5-inning, 2-hit, 4-strikeout performance to stand as a complete-game victory.

Ryan Rodriguez, Casey Smit and Christian Coburn drove in a run apiece in a 3-run fourth inning that broke a 1-1 tie. Bradley Goodson had 2 hits and a run scored on the day.

CF (15-26-1, 5-8 Mid-Florida Conference) edged closer to .500 in conference play with the win, moving within 4 games in the loss column of current MFC second-place team St. Johns River and 5 games back of frontrunner Santa Fe. The top two finishers at the end of the 24-game MFC slate advance to the state tournament in May (full standings).

Next up in that pursuit is a Saturday visit to Daytona State. First, however, the Patriots host NJCAA Division II opponent Pasco-Hernando on Friday at 3 p.m.

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Former CF Slugger Jones Starring at Tampa

Former Central Florida baseball star Andrew Jones is continuing to torment opposing pitchers at the NCAA Division II level. Jones, a two-year Patriot starter and the reigning Mid-Florida Conference Player of the Year, owns a .417 batting average and a team-high 29 RBI as a junior slugger at the University of Tampa.

Jones and the Spartans are currently in the thick of a Sunshine State Conference race that also includes Patriot alumni at Nova Southeastern in Luis Penate and Nick Avila and Lynn in Shawn Kale and Dane Derstine. UT opens an SSC homestand against St. Leo and Rollins College on Friday.

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Former Patriot Fort, Clayton State Win NCAA Title

Breanna Fort (top, with arm outstretched) celebrates the NCAA Division II national championship with her Clayton State University teammates.

Former Central Florida All-American and Clayton State senior Breanna Fort celebrated an NCAA Division II women's basketball national championship Friday night.

The Lady Lakers ended their amazing 35-1 season with a 69-50 title-game rout of Michigan Tech on Friday at St. Joseph, Mo., and in so doing made history on a number of fronts. The group is the first Clayton State team to win an NCAA title in any sport; the first women's basketball team to win an NCAA title out of the Peach Belt Conference; and the first four-year women's basketball program in the state of Georgia to win an NCAA championship.

Fort, a two-time All-Mid-Florida Conference selection at CF and an NJCAA third-team All-American in 2008-09, started every game for the Lady Lakers and led the team in rebounding. She joins an elite group of recent CF alumni to celebrate NCAA championships; Alberta Auguste won consecutive women's basketball titles at Tennessee in 2007 and 2008, and Nick Ebert helped South Carolina to a College World Series title in 2010.

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FSC-Jacksonville 4, CF Patriots 0 (Baseball)

Central Florida took a 4-0 baseball loss Saturday to Mid-Florida Conference foe FSC-Jacksonville.

The Patriots (14-26-1, 4-8 MFC) visit Seminole on Monday.

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Santa Fe 8, CF Patriots 1; Santa Fe 4, CF 0 (Softball)

Central Florida lost both halves of a softball doubleheader at Santa Fe on Saturday by scores of 8-1 and 4-0.

Brittany Baker's 2-out single in the fourth inning of the opener plated Arika Fox to put the Patriots on the scoreboard.

CF (14-33, 2-10 Mid-Florida Conference) visits Daytona State on Thursday.

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CF Patriots 7, FSC-Jacksonville 4 (Baseball)

Clint Cronin's strong start propelled Central Florida to a 7-4 win over FSC-Jacksonville on Friday at Goodlett Field.

Cronin went 7 innings deep against the Stars, yielding 2 runs and striking out 5. Cole Miraglia and Yoenny Gonzalez did the offensive heavy lifting, each going 3-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBI.

CF (14-25-1, 4-7 Mid-Florida Conference) completes the home-and-home series Saturday at Jacksonville.

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CF Alum Breanna Fort to Play for National Title

Former Central Florida All-American and Clayton State senior Breanna Fort will play for an NCAA Division II women's basketball championship.

CSU handled Shaw 63-46 in the DII Final Four on Wednesday to earn a berth in the NCAA title game, the first time a Clayton State team in any sport will play in a national championship game. The Lakers, 34-1 and ranked second in the  nation, face Michigan Tech on Friday at 8 p.m. in a game that will be televised on ESPN2.

Fort, a starting forward and the team's leading rebounder, had 4 points, 2 rebounds and 4 steals in 20 minutes of action.

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Former CF Star Nick Avila Named Conference Pitcher of the Week

Former Central Florida baseball standout and Nova Southeastern senior Nick Avila has earned recognition at the NCAA Division II level as the Sunshine State Conference Pitcher of the Week. From nsusharks.com:

Avila pitched the best game of any Shark this season as he threw a complete game one-hitter. Other than a solo home run given up in the third inning, Avila was almost flawless as he only allowed two walks, both of which came in the fifth inning. Avila collected a season-high six strikeouts in the game and retired 28-of-31 batters faced.

The game brings Avila’s ERA to a team-best 3.08 over 38 innings pitched. He has collected 27 K’s and held opposing batters to a .266 average.

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Seminole 4, CF Patriots 3; Seminole 12, CF 4 (Softball)

Central Florida's postseason softball hopes took a hit Tuesday with a sweep at Seminole by scores of 4-3 and 12-4.

Freshmen Jessica Lopez and Arika Fox continued their strong recent play with a pair of remarkable performances that spanned the length of the afternoon doubleheader. Lopez went 5-for-7 with a triple, 2 doubles, 4 runs scored and an RBI, while Fox went 5-for-6 with 2 triple, 3 runs and 2 RBI.

CF (14-31, 2-8 Mid-Florida Conference) visits MFC frontrunner Santa Fe on Saturday.

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CF Patriots 6, Morton 5 (Baseball)

Central Florida took a break from the Mid-Florida Conference grind Tuesday with a 6-5 walk-off win over Morton.

Cole Miraglia played the hero for the Patriots with a game-winning RBI single with 1 out in the ninth inning. Casey Smit scored the decisive run, and also earned the win on the mound, picking up 2 outs in the ninth in relief of Charlie Neely's strong 6-inning, 5-hit, 1-run starting effort. Danny Alimonti's 3-run home run in the sixth put CF up 3-1, and Christian Coburn had a 2-run double in the eighth to put the home team in striking distance.

CF returns to its MFC slate on Friday, hosting FSC-Jacksonville at 3 p.m.

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St. Johns River 3, CF Patriots 2 (Baseball)

Central Florida narrowly missed a home-and-home baseball sweep of first-place St. Johns River on Monday, losing a walk-off 3-2 decision at Palatka.

SJR earned its winning run on a bases-loaded single with 2 outs and 2 strikes in the bottom of the ninth. Bradley Goodson led CF's offensive effort with a single and 2 runs, and Josh Whitchurch and Scott Schaub each added a single and an RBI.
 
CF (12-25-1, 3-7 MFC) continues its conference slate against FSC-Jacksonville this weekend, hosting the Stars on Friday at 3 p.m. and visiting Jacksonville on Saturday.

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CF Patriots 7, FSC-Jacksonville 6; FSC-J 5, CF 3 (Softball)

Central Florida pulled off its second extra-inning walk-off win of its conference softball season on Saturday, edging FSC-Jacksonville 7-6 in 8 innings. The visiting Stars won the late game 5-3.

FSC-J led 5-3 going into the seventh and final regulation inning of the opener, setting the table for another Patriot rally. Jessica Lopez led off with a bunt base hit, and scored on an Arika Fox triple. Double threat Jessica Knight, who earned the win on the mound for CF, forced extra innings with an RBI single to plate Lopez.

The Stars scored in their half of the eighth to force another round of home-team heroics. Lopez and Fox again stepped into the role, rapping back-to-back singles to kickstart a 2-out scoring threat. Knight singled up the middle, and Lopez and Fox took advantage of the misplayed ball in center to round third and score the tying and winning runs.

Lopez went 3-for-5 with 2 runs, Fox went 2-for-5 with an RBI and 2 runs and Knight went 4-for-5 with a run and 2 RBI. Miranda Anderson added 2 hits and 2 runs and Brittany Baker 2 hits and 2 RBI in a strong overall performance by the CF offense.

CF (14-29, 2-6 Mid-Florida Conference) takes to the road for its next several conference games before returning home April 5 for a set against St. Johns River.

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CF Patriots 6, St. Johns River 5 (Baseball)

Central Florida picked up a hard-won Mid-Florida Conference baseball victory on Saturday at Goodlett Field, erasing an eighth-inning deficit en route to a 6-5 win over first-place St. Johns River.

CF entered the eighth down 5-3 but staged one of its patented late rallies to overtake the Vikings. Casey Smit drew a leadoff walk, and Bradley Goodson joined him on the base paths with a base hit. Josh Whitchurch drove in Smit with a ground-rule double to right, and Scott Schaub followed with a line-drive single up the middle that brought home Goodson and Whitchurch and put the Patriots ahead.

Kyle Moeder made sure the lead held up, retiring SJR in order in the top of the ninth.

CF (12-24-1, 3-6 MFC) looks to make up more ground in the conference race Monday as it completes the home-and-home with SJR at Palatka.

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Lake-Sumter 12, CF Patriots 5 (Baseball)

Central Florida lost a home Mid-Florida Conference game against Lake-Sumter on Friday by a score of 12-5.

Cole Miraglia went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI, while Nick Radomski had a double and drove in the team's other 2 runs.

CF (11-24-1, 2-6 MFC) looks to reverse its conference fortunes Saturday with a 1 p.m. home date with St. Johns River.

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CF Patriots 1, Daytona State 0; Daytona 6, CF 4 (Softball)

Central Florida earned its first Mid-Florida Conference softball victory Thursday with a 1-0 eight-inning win over Daytona State. The visiting Falcons took the second half of the doubleheader 6-4.

Sophomore Jessica Knight pitched an 8-inning shutout and provided the winning hit at the plate. Kasie Cheney led off the eighth inning with a walk, Jessica Lopez moved her to second with a sacrifice and Knight's bloop hit to shallow centerfield allowed Cheney to round third and get the Patriots in the mix of the MFC race.

Miranda Anderson had 2 hits, including the above-depicted double that gave the Patriots a seventh-inning scoring threat in advance of the threat it consummated in the eighth.

A resilient CF squad staged a late rally in the second game as well, scoring 3 runs in the fifth to make a run at the Falcons' 6-1 lead. Megan David had 2 hits, an RBI and a run, Jandrew Collins added 2 RBI, Cheney went 2-for-3 with a walk, a run scored and an RBI and Anderson had 2 hits, a walk and a run scored.

CF (13-28, 1-5 MFC) hosts FSC-Jacksonville on Saturday at 1 p.m. with its eyes on further progress in the conference standings.

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CF Patriots 6, Lake-Sumter 3 (Baseball)

Central Florida picked up a much-needed Mid-Florida Conference baseball win Wednesday with a 6-3 triumph at Lake-Sumter.

Cody Lewis improved to 4-1 with a solid pitching effort, yielding 6 hits and 2 earned runs while striking out 7 in 7 innings, and Kyle Leja offered strong support in collecting his fifth save. Josh Whitchurch went 3-for-5 with an RBI, Scott Schaub had a single and 3 RBI and Casey Smit added 2 hits and 3 runs scored to lead the Patriots at the plate.

The victory keeps the Patriots (11-23-1, 2-5 MFC) within striking distance of a playoff berth in a conference race that was starting to get away from them, though they'll still need to string together some wins to make up ground lost over their recent five-game losing streak. That effort begins Friday at 2:30 p.m. at Goodlett Field as the Patriots complete their home-and-home with Lake-Sumter, and Saturday at 1 p.m. as St. Johns River visits Ocala.

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CF Alum Luis Penate Earns Conference Baseball Honor

Former Central Florida Patriots baseball standout Luis Penate has grown into an NCAA Division II star at Nova Southeastern University. On Monday, the Miami native and two-year CF starter earned his first Sunshine State Conference Player of the Week award. From nsusharks.com:

The shortstop batted .500 with three runs and eight RBI. He hit safely in all four games and posted three multiple-hit contests en route to a .632 on-base percentage. Three of his hits were extra-base hits, as he tallied a .929 slugging percentage.

Penate came up big in the second contest of the Tampa series, going 2-for-4 with three RBI. He hit a home run in the first inning to tie the score at 2-2 and then drove in the winning run with a walk-off single that gave NSU a 7-6 victory to clinch the series. He was 2-for-3 in stolen base attempts.

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St. Johns River 9, CF Patriots 5; SJR 9, CF 1 (Softball)

Central Florida fell to 4-0 in Mid-Florida Conference softball play Tuesday with a pair of losses at St. Johns River, 9-5 and 9-1.

Jessica Lopez had 2 hits and 2 runs, Megan David had 2 hits and a run scored and Brittany Baker blasted a 2-run home run to pace a strong offensive effort in the opener. Samantha Stewart manufactured the Patriots' lone late-game run in the fourth inning, earning a walk, stealing second and third base and crossing the plate on an error.

CF (12-27, 0-4 MFC) looks to get on track Thursday at 2:30 p.m. with a home doubleheader against Daytona State.

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CF Alum Fort Helps Clayton State to Record Win Total

Perennial NCAA Division II women's basketball contender Clayton State has reached new heights in 2010-11, thanks in large part to the contributions of senior forward and former Lady Patriots All-American Breanna Fort.

The Lady Lakers set a school record for victories on Monday with their 32nd win of the season. The victory, a 76-60 defeat of Lander, was doubly significant in that it came in the Southeast Regional championship game and advanced Clayton State to the Elite Eight, where it will play March 22 for a berth in the Division II Final Four.

Fort, a 5-11 forward originally from Hawthorne, has started all 33 games for the Lady Lakers and is the team's leading rebounder with 5.6 boards per game.

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CF Patriots 12, Macomb 11; CF 6, Macomb 5 (Baseball)

Central Florida delivered head coach Marty Smith's 500th victory Monday with a walk-off 12-11 win over Macomb in the early half of an afternoon doubleheader. He added No. 501 a couple of hours later as the Patriots completed the sweep with a 12-inning 6-5 win in the nightcap.

Click here to read more about Smith's historic achievement.

The opener appeared lost until the Patriots staged a last-ditch rally with its final three outs. A faltering Macomb bullpen allowed a string of hits, walks and hit batsmen, setting the stage for CF to erase the 11-6 deficit it faced entering the seventh and final inning. Christian Coburn's walk-off hit to the centerfield wall cleared the loaded bases to end the game and give Smith his historic victory.

Far from an anticlimax, the nightcap provided its own brand of drama as the scheduled 7-inning game went to 5 extra innings. Bradley Goodson hit a leadoff triple, Casey Smit and Jacob Zellner were intentionally walked to load the bases and Scott Schaub rapped a single to left field to score Goodson, break the 5-5 tie and give the Patriots their second walk-off victory of the day.

After Monday's jubilant non-conference wins, CF (10-23-1) faces a more sobering set of challenges for the rest of the week as it resumes its uphill climb in the Mid-Florida Conference. First up is a home-and-home set with Lake-Sumter, with CF on the road Wednesday and hosting the Lakers on Friday at 3 p.m.

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CF Baseball Coach Marty Smith Earns 500th Victory

Central Florida baseball coach Marty Smith earned his 500th career victory Monday with a dramatic 12-11 walk-off victory over Macomb.

Smith, in his 17th season as Patriots head coach, takes his place among an elite group of NJCAA coaches. At the start of the spring season, only 49 other active coaches had achieved 500 wins, including just four at Florida programs.

"This is really a tribute to the administrators, coaches and student-athletes who have helped make Patriot baseball a successful program over the years," Smith said. "It's an honor to be a part of it."

With the historic moment now recorded, Smith looks forward to refocusing his team on the conference race it resumes Wednesday with a visit to Lake-Sumter.

"I'm happy to have this out of the way so we can start focusing on winning conference games and getting into the postseason," Smith said.

Smith entered the spring 2011 season with a career record of 491-349-3 since taking over the program in 1995. His tenure includes a pair of FCCAA state championships, won in 1997 and 1998, and five MFC titles. He was an all-conference middle infielder for the Patriots under Dr. Roger "Marty" Martinsen, and went on to join Dr. Martinsen's staff as an assistant and eventually replace his former coach.

Players embraced Smith on the field and fans shouted their congratulations after Christian Coburn cleared the bases and plated the winning run with a 3-run, 7th-inning double.

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Ratliffe, Mizzou Prepare for NCAA Tournament Run

Central Florida Patriots alumnus Ricardo Ratliffe and his Missouri Tigers will open their pursuit of an NCAA championship on Thursday at Washington D.C.

The Tigers enter the bracket as an 11 seed in the West regional and face sixth-seed Cincinnati at 9:50 p.m. EST on Thursday, the first day of second-round tournament play. Click here for the full new-look bracket.

Mizzou began the season a top-20 team, but fell out of the rankings en route to a 23-10 regular season and 8-8 Big 12 Conference run.  Ratliffe, the Patriots' career leading scorer and the reigning NJCAA Male Student-Athlete of the Year, was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, averaging 10.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.

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Lake-Sumter 3, CF Patriots 0; Lake-Sumter 8, CF 3 (Softball)

Central Florida's Mid-Florida Conference softball schedule opened in disappointing fashion Saturday as the Patriots dropped both halves of a home doubleheader to Lake-Sumter. The Lakers won by scores of 3-0 and 8-3.

Jessica Knight threw admirably in the opener, allowing 4 hits and no earned runs in a complete-game effort. The CF offense rebounded in the late game behind Miranda Anderson's home run and sacrifice fly, while Jandrew Collins added a hit and an RBI and Samantha Stewart a hit and a run scored. Knight, Jessica Lopez, Megan David and Kasie Cheney had multiple hits on the afternoon.

CF (12-25, 0-2 MFC) will look to climb back to .500 in the conference on Tuesday with a visit to St. Johns River. Its next home date is Thursday at 2 p.m. against Daytona State.

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Santa Fe 10, CF Patriots 5 (Baseball)

Central Florida saw a late lead evaporate Friday in a 10-5 loss at Santa Fe.

The loss keeps the Patriots (8-23-1, 1-5 Mid-Florida Conference) well off the pace in the conference, which sends just its top two teams to the postseason. Three MFC foes entered Friday's action with a single loss apiece, including Lake-Sumter, CF's opponent in a home-and-home series next week.

First, however, the Patriots host a Monday doubleheader at noon against Michigan visitor Macomb CC. A win in one of those games will give 17th-year head coach Marty Smith his elusive 500th career victory and place him in rare company among NJCAA coaches. At the start of the spring season, only 49 other active coaches had achieved 500 wins, including just four at Florida programs.

Smith entered this season with a career record of 491-349-3 since taking over the program in 1995. His tenure includes a pair of FCCAA state championships, won in 1997 and 1998, and five MFC titles. He was an all-conference middle infielder for the Patriots under Dr. Roger "Marty" Martinsen, and went on to join Dr. Martinsen's staff as an assistant and eventually replace his former coach.

CF entered the seventh inning of Friday's game with a 5-4 lead that quickly disappeared behind a late Saints onslaught. Bradley Goodson had 2 hits, including a triple, and 2 RBI, Scott Schaub had 2 hits and scored a run and Josh Whitchurch hit a double and drove in a run to pace a solid Patriot offensive effort.

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Santa Fe 9, CF Patriots 3 (Baseball)

Central Florida took a hit in the Mid-Florida Conference standings and missed an opportunity to earn head coach Marty Smith his 500th victory Wednesday with a 9-3 loss to Santa Fe.

With the loss, Smith stays stuck at 499 career victories. His next opportunity to reach the milestone comes Friday as CF and Santa Fe complete their home-and-home series at Gainesville.

Of more immediate concern to the Patriots is their continuing slide in the MFC standings. CF (8-22-1, 1-4 MFC) hasn't won a conference game since its opener March 2, costing it valuable ground in the race for one of the conference's two postseason spots.

CF was held scoreless until the seventh, when it plated a run on a wild pitch and another on Josh Whitchurch's RBI groundout. Nick Radomski drove in Casey Smit with a groundout in the ninth..

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CF 5, Lincoln Land 4 (Baseball)

Central Florida baseball coach Marty Smith moved to the precipice of an historic milestone on Tuesday, guiding the Patriots to a 5-4 defeat of Lincoln Land and earning his 499th career victory.

The Patriots will play for Smith's 500th win on Wednesday at 3 p.m. against Mid-Florida Conference rival Santa Fe.

Another victory will place Smith, in his 17th year at the Patriot helm, in rare company among NJCAA coaches. At the start of the spring season, only 49 other active coaches had achieved 500 wins, including just four at Florida programs.

Smith entered this season with a career record of 491-349-3 since taking over the program in 1995. His tenure includes a pair of FCCAA state championships, won in 1997 and 1998, and five MFC titles. He was an all-conference middle infielder for the Patriots under Dr. Roger "Marty" Martinsen, and went on to join Dr. Martinsen's staff as an assistant and eventually replace his former coach.

His 499th win Tuesday was delivered by a 10th-inning rally and a Bradley Goodson walk-off. Ryan Rodriguez got on base with a bunt single, advanced on Scott Schaub's single to left field and crossed home on Goodson's game-winning hit to right.

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CF Patriots 2, Pasco-Hernando 0; Pasco 7, CF 1 (Softball)

Sophomore ace Jessica Knight threw a complete-game shutout Tuesday as Central Florida won at Pasco-Hernando 2-0. The Patriots lost the late game 7-1 to earn a split in their final non-conference doubleheader.

Knight allowed just 3 hits and struck out 7 to gain some momentum on the mound as CF's tough Mid-Florida Conference schedule approaches. She also starred at the plate with 2 doubles, a run and an RBI, while Miranda Anderson, Brittany Baker and Jandrew Collins chipped in 2 hits apiece.

CF (12-23) gets its MFC slate underway back on its home turf, hosting Daytona State on Thursday at 2 p.m. The conference-opening homestand continues Saturday at 1 p.m. against Lake-Sumter.

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Daytona State 4, CF Patriots 2 (Baseball)

Central Florida saw a ninth-inning rally fall short Monday at Goodlett Field in a 4-2 loss to Daytona State.

The visiting Falcons picked up a run in the seventh and two more in the eighth to break a 1-1 tie. The Patriots responded in the ninth, plating a run and bringing the winning run to the plate before running out of outs.

Christian Coburn had 2 hits and Casey Smit a double to headline the Patriot offense.

CF (7-21-1, 1-3 Mid-Florida Conference) hosts Lincoln Land in a non-conference game Tuesday at 2:30 p.m., then looks to make up ground in the MFC on Wednesday at 3 p.m. as it hosts Santa Fe in the first half of a home-and-home series. The Patriots visit their Gainesville rival on Friday.

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Foster, Twine Make All-State Teams

Central Florida hoops stars Kevin Foster and Quinnecia Twine are among 24 student-athletes named to the 2010-11 All-FCCAA/NJCAA Region VIII teams.

Foster, a sophomore transfer from George Mason, was a lock for an all-state nod after being named Mid-Florida Conference Player of the Year last month.

Twine was among four Lady Patriots to earn all-conference first-team honors, and added to her growing collection of honors with an all-tournament selection after last week's FCCAA/NJCAA Region VIII Tournament.

(Complete women's and men's all-state selections.)

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Twine, Muo Earn All-Tournament Nods

Quinnecia Twine and Mathiang Muo have earned FCCAA/NJCAA Region VIII All-Tournament team selections for their contributions to Central Florida's respective postseason basketball runs last week.

(Complete women's and men's all-tournament selections.)

Twine, a freshman guard out of Atlanta, led CF with 12 points and  9 rebounds in its quarterfinal win over Indian River, then exploded for a game-high 25 points in the Lady Patriots' season-ending loss to NJCAA No. 1 and eventual state champion Pensacola State.

Muo, a sophomore transfer from Northeastern, averaged 11 points per game over the Patriots' two-game tournament stint, which ended with a semifinal loss to eventual state champion Tallahassee.

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CF Alum Ratliffe Named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year

Missouri junior Ricardo Ratliffe, the leading scorer in Central Florida Patriots basketball history and the reigning NJCAA Male Student-Athlete of the Year, has been named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. The Virginia native, a two-time All-American at CF, also earned all-conference honorable mention.

From Mizzou's official site:

Ratliffe became Missouri's third Newcomer of the Year over the last five seasons. The 6-foot-8, 240-pound bruiser led the Tigers in rebounding this season (6.3), while chipping in 10.7 points a night. A native of Hampton, Va., Ratliffe ranked 14th in the Big 12 in rebounding, fourth in offensive rebounding (2.7) and fifth in blocked shots (1.3). He led the Tigers with five double-doubles in 2010-11, including back-to-back double-figure rebounding games against Iowa State and Baylor. Ratliffe is Missouri's first Newcomer of the Year since 2008 when DeMarre Carroll won the award. Stefhon Hannah also won Newcomer of the Year honors in 2007.

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CF Patriots 5, South Florida 1; South Florida 7, CF 0 (Softball)

Jessica Knight earned a complete-game victory and five different Patriots crossed the plate as Central Florida won the first half of Saturday's home doubleheader over South Florida by a score of 5-1. The visitors came back to win the late game 7-0.

Knight, CF's returning sophomore staff ace, yielded 7 hits and an earned run while striking out 3 to notch her 7th win of the season in the opener. Arika Fox, Miranda Anderson, Jandrew Collins, Samantha Sibley and Kasie Cheney scored a run apiece for the Patriots. Cheney, a mid-year transfer to the program, continued to assert herself in the CF lineup with 2 hits, including a double, and 2 RBI.

The Patriots (11-21) are scheduled for one last non-conference tuneup Tuesday at Pasco-Hernando before Mid-Florida Conference play opens Thursday with a 2 p.m. visit from Daytona State.

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Daytona State 4, CF Patriots 2 (Baseball)

Central Florida dropped its second straight Mid-Florida Conference game on Saturday with a 4-2 loss at Daytona State.

The Patriots stayed in the game on the strength of a solid starting pitching effort from Clint Cronin. The freshman righthander logged 7 2/3 innings and struck out 6 before taking the loss. Casey Smit had 3 hits and Josh Whitchurch had a double among his 2 hits to pace the offense.

CF (7-20-1, 1-2 MFC) completes the home-and-home with Daytona on Monday at 3 p.m. at Goodlett Field. A win would go a long way toward keeping the Falcons, off to a 3-0 start in conference play, from flying away from the MFC pack.

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Tallahassee 59, CF Patriots 49 (MBB)

Central Florida's hopes for a men's basketball state championship were extinguished on Friday with a 59-49 semifinal loss to Tallahassee.

A sluggish first half for both squads yielded a 24-22 halftime lead for the Eagles, and they pushed that lead to 6 soon after the break. The lead hovered around two or three possessions until the 3-minute mark, when the Patriots cut the lead to 3 on an A.J. Holland free throw. Holland's 3-pointer with 2 minutes to play cut it back to 3, but the Eagles continued to log scoring possessions down the stretch to hold off the Patriots.

Kevin Foster logged a 13-point, 13-rebound double-double in defeat, the only Patriot to reach double figures in scoring. The team was plagued by poor shooting, particularly a 37.5 percent mark from the free-throw line that cost it dearly down the stretch.

The Patriots (25-7) entered the state tournament with legitimate state title aspirations after winning the Mid-Florida Conference going away. The postseason berth was the sixth consecutive for Patriots head coach Tim Ryan and the seventh of his eight-year tenure at CF. Four of those teams, including this 2010-11 edition, have advanced to at least the state semifinals.

CF built a late double-digit lead in its quarterfinal Thursday but struggled to put away Brevard, ultimately escaping with a 59-56 win and advancing to within a game of a state championship shot.

The third-ranked Patriots entered Friday as a slim favorite over fourth-ranked Tallahassee, despite CF's dominant 36-point win over the Eagles on Dec. 11 in Ocala. Tallahassee recovered from that setback to post an 8-4 record in the Panhandle Conference and earn a trip to Marianna, where it earned its vengeance.

While CF will lament its missed opportunities this week, time and perspective will cast this visit to Marianna in a more positive light. With the Patriots taking the court Friday afternoon immediately after the Lady Patriots' semifinal against Pensacola, Central Florida was the only school to advance both its men's and women's teams to the state final four.

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Seminole 13, CF Patriots 9 (Baseball)

Central Florida fell to .500 on its Mid-Florida Conference baseball schedule on Friday with a 13-9 loss to Seminole at Goodlett Field.

CF saw a tight game blown open with a Seminole rally over the final 2 innings. Nick Radomski led the Patriot offense with a 3-for-4, 4-RBI effort, while Christian Coburn also went 3-for-4.

The Patriots (7-19-1, 1-1 MFC) split a conferece-opening home-and-home set with the Raiders, winning at Seminole 5-3 on Wednesday. Next up is a pair against Daytona State, with the Patriots away on Saturday and hosting the Falcons at Goodlett Field on Monday at 3 p.m.

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Pensacola 96, CF Lady Patriots 71 (WBB)

Central Florida bowed out of the women's basketball FCCAA/NJCAA Region VIII Tournament on Friday, falling to an overwhelmning Pensacola team 96-71 in the state semifinal round.

Despite the loss, CF (18-14) gained a measure of redemption in Marianna after squeaking into the postseason as the Mid-Florida Conference's third-place team. The Lady Patriots knocked off favored Southern Conference champion Indian River 49-44 in the quarterfinal round on Wednesday to reach the state's final four, where they combined with their male counterparts to make Central Florida the only FCCAA school to place both of its basketball teams in this year's state semifinals.

The team's trip to Marianna also continued head coach Cheryl Rice's streak of state tournament appearances. Rice has guided the Lady Patriots to the state tournament in each of her nine seasons with the program; this 2010-11 squad is the sixth of those teams to reach at least the state semifinals.

But Pensacola proved an insurmountable obstacle. The Lady Pirates burned through their regular-season schedule without a loss, including a perfect run through the tough Panhandle Conference, and entered the postseason as the NJCAA's No. 1 team. After surviving a quarterfinal scare from CF's familiar MFC rival Daytona State on Wednesday, Pensacola appeared to enter Friday's game with renewed focus.

CF made an early upset bid behind a versatile offensive attack and an unorthodox zone defense. The teams stood tied at 13 with 13 minutes to play in the first half. But the top-ranked Lady Pirates unleashed a devastating run that extended to halftime and gave Pensacola a 53-31 lead at the break. CF couldn't make a dent in that margin in the second half.

Quinnecia Twine poured in a game-high 25 points and added 4 rebounds and 4 steals. Moniqua Darby scored 15, and Briana Gibson posted a near double-double with 10 points and 9 rebounds. Point guard Janay Borum produced her usual box score-filling effort with 5 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds and 6 steals.

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GAME DAY: FCCAA State Semifinals (MBB, WBB)

With respective quarterfinal wins Wednesday and Thursday, College of Central Florida is the only FCCAA program to put both its women's and men's basketball teams in this year's FCCAA/NJCAA Region VIII Tournament semifinal round.

On Friday at Chipola College in Marianna, the Lady Patriots and Patriots continue their quests to bring state titles back to Ocala. The women face Pensacola at 2 p.m. EST; the men take on Tallahassee at 4 p.m. EST. You can watch both games live online via Panhandle Broadcasting.

Here's a look at the semifinal matchups:

CENTRAL FLORIDA vs. PENSACOLA (WBB)

LADY PATRIOTS: CF belied its status as the Mid-Florida Conference's third-place team in dispatching Southern Conference champion Indian River 49-44 in the quarterfinal round Wednesday. Fans who watched that game saw the finest stretch of basketball the Lady Patriots have produced all season over the opening minutes, followed by a prolonged attempt to recapture that lost edge as IR chiseled away at the lead. Ultimately, the head start and a few timely plays down the stretch earned the win, but CF knows it will need to rediscover the efficiency and intensity it found in Wednesday's early minutes and make it hold up for the full 40 to knock off the nation's No. 1 team.

LADY PIRATES: Pensacola has enjoyed a charmed 2010-11 season, finishing the year undefeated and atop both the rugged Panhandle Conference and the NJCAA rankings. And on paper, this opponent is a beast for CF. Pensacola handed the Lady Patriots their worst loss of the season, an embarrassing 88-50 rout in Ocala on Dec. 3, and on Wednesday beat Daytona State, a team that finished ahead of CF in the MFC and swept the Lady Patriots in three meetings this season. But the tournament favorite looked vulnerable in Wednesday's postseason opener, playing mostly break-even ball with the Lady Falcons before pulling away late for a 66-61 win.

KEYS TO THE GAME

• Though the entire team played well in building the first-half lead over Indian River on Wednesday, it was freshman point guard Janay Borum who was best able to sustain that level of play throughout. Another strong effort from Borum will be needed to navigate Pensacola's rangy defense and ensure that CF's offensive possessions end with quality shots.
• CF sat in the stands, basking in the light of its own victory, as Pensacola struggled to put away Daytona. Any psychological advantage the Lady Pirates owned over the Lady Patriots should have evaporated over the course of that game. Pensacola is undefeated and nationally lauded for a reason, but CF saw Wednesday that it is not invincible. If the Lady Patriots view Friday's game as an evenly-matched contest between two deserving state semifinalists, they'll have given themselves a chance to advance.  

CENTRAL FLORIDA vs. TALLAHASSEE (MBB)

PATRIOTS: Central Florida built a comfortable early lead and fended off several rallies before narrowly avoiding implosion in its 59-56 quarterfinal win over Brevard. Though closer than necessary, the win was reminiscent of the Patriots' path to the Mid-Florida Conference championship. Six of the Patriots' 12 conference games were decided by four points or less, with CF winning five of them, and two went to overtime, with CF splitting the pair. That kind of experience in close games, and the veteran status of returning sophomore Slobodan Miljanic and Division I transfers Kevin Foster, Mathiang Muo, Addison Smith and A.J. Holland, should continue to serve the Patriots well.

EAGLES: Tallahassee was embarrassed in its lone meeting with the Patriots this season, an 84-48 rout Dec. 11 at Ocala, but its prospects have brightened considerably in the months since. The Eagles finished the season ranked fourth in the state, a step behind No. 3 CF, and with a solid 8-4 record in the tough Panhandle Conference, good for second place behind tournament host and state No. 1 Chipola. They advanced to the semifinals on the strength of a rugged 62-55 quarterfinal victory over Polk on Thursday.

KEYS TO THE GAME

• CF survived Brevard despite not shooting particularly well, whether from the free-throw line, from three-point range, or from the field overall. The Patriots 3-for-9 effort from the free-throw line down the stretch is of particular concern. Such poor shooting will get harder to compensate for as the tournament goes on and the competition gets stronger.
• It's a safe bet that the December debacle in Ocala will be a primary theme of the Eagles' preparations for Friday. Neither side believes CF is 36 points better than Tallahassee, and the Eagles proved their mettle Thursday by knocking off a solid Polk squad. While Tallahassee taps into the motivation provided by its humiliating loss, the Patriots might be best served by focusing on the fact that the scoreboard resets to zero.

LOOKING AHEAD: The winners of Friday's semifinal games advance to the FCCAA/NJCAA Region VIII Tournament championship games, played Saturday at Chipola. The women's title game starts at 6 p.m. EST; the men's game follows at 8:30 p.m. EST. Here are the brackets, women's and men's.

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CF Patriots 59, Brevard 56 (MBB)

Central Florida advanced to the FCCAA/NJCAA Region VIII men's basketball semifinals on Thursday with a 59-56 victory over Brevard.

Watch the Panhandle Broadcasting webcast of the game.

The Patriots (25-6) move on to a semifinal game Friday at 4 p.m. EST at Chipola, where they will face the winner of Thursday's semifinal between Polk State and Tallahassee. .

CF rushed to a 7-0 lead and pulled ahead by as many as 15 in the opening half. But the Patriots came out flat after halftime, failing to get on the board until Manny Dias scored in traffic just over 6 minutes into the half. The Titans carved into the lead in the meantime, moving within 3 points with 12 minutes to play.

Dias capped the Patriots' rally in response, making a steal in the backcourt and converting a breakaway layup to put the Patriots up 40-30 with 10 minutes to play. A persistent Titans squad hovered within striking distance down the stretch, finally cutting the lead to a precarious 58-56 with 3.5 seconds to play. Kevin Foster made a late free throw, and the CF press prevented the Titans from a potential game-tying buzzer-beater.

Slobodan Miljanic matched Mathiang Muo with a team-high 14 points and added a game-high 11 rebounds. Foster added 11 points and 7 rebounds as all three of the Patriots' first-team all-conference selections reached double figures in scoring.

The win continues a remarkable season for a new-look Patriot squad assembled in the wake of NJCAA Male Athlete of the Year Ricardo Ratliffe's graduation and transfer to Missouri. The group, featuring just one returning sophomore in Miljanic, proved to be a seamless fit, cruising to the conference crown that eluded the program a year ago and finishing the regular season ranked third in the state.

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Jackson 19, CF Patriots 6 (Baseball)

Central Florida squeezed a non-conference, out-of-state opponent into its Mid-Florida Conference-opening home-and-home series on Thursday, and took a 19-6 loss to Jackson CC of Michigan for its trouble.

GAME DAY: CF Patriots vs. Brevard, FCCAA Quarterfinal (MBB)

Central Florida opens its men's basketball postseason run Thursday, facing Brevard in an FCCAA/NJCAA Region VIII quarterfinal. The game starts at 2 p.m. EST at Chipola College in Marianna. You can watch the game online via Panhandle Broadcasting.

Here's a look ahead:

CF Patriots 5, Seminole 3 (Baseball)

Central Florida won its Mid-Florida Conference opener on Wednesday, earning a 5-3 victory at Seminole State.

CF Lady Patriots 49, Indian River 44 (WBB)

Central Florida advanced to the FCCAA/NJCAA Region VIII semifinals on Wednesday, beating Indian River 49-44 in its postseason opener at Chipola College in Marianna.

CF (18-13) advances to play Pensacola in a state semifinal Friday at 2 p.m. EST at Chipola.

Watch the Panhandle Broadcasting webcast of the game.

The Lady Patriots played one of their finest stretches of basketball to open the game. They scored on their first four possessions and deployed an effective zone defense to open the game on an 11-2 run, prompting an early Indian River timeout. The Lady Patriots made that advantage last the balance of the first half, leading 33-24 at the break.

The second half was a different story. CF's efficient first-half offense bogged down, allowing Indian River to methodically close the gap and finally pull ahead with 7 minutes to play. At that point, CF had scored just 5 second-half points.

Still, CF made a series of timely plays down the stretch to earn the victory. Quinnecia Twine drew a foul on a baseline drive and knocked down both ends of a one-and-one to put the Lady Patriots back on top 45-44 with 2:16 to play. Briana Gibson stepped in front of a driving Lady Pioneer on the other end, drawing a charge and returning possession to CF. Janay Borum drew fouls on the Lady Patriots' next two trips, connecting on two of the resulting free throws to give CF a 47-44 lead with 23.7 seconds to play.

Indian River missed a corner three-pointer against a swarming CF defense, and Twine dropped in a breakaway layup in the final seconds to provide the final margin.

Borum produced 11 points, 5 rebounds and 6 points for the Lady Patriots, while Twine added 12 points and 9 rebounds and Gibson had 8 points and 5 rebounds.

The win keeps alive a CF women's basketball season that saw the Lady Patriots force their way into the state tournament with a string of close late-season wins. CF won three of its last four Mid-Florida Conference games, earning the victories by a combined total of 4 points, to hold off Hillsborough for the conference's third and final state tournament berth.

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GAME DAY: CF Lady Patriots vs. Indian River, FCCAA Quarterfinal (WBB)

Central Florida opens its women's basketball postseason run Wednesday, facing Indian River in an FCCAA/NJCAA Region VIII Tournament quarterfinal. The game starts at 2 p.m. EST at Chipola College in Marianna. You can watch the game live online via Panhandle Broadcasting.