Tiffany Lane (Moreno Valley, Calif.), Natalie Land (Mayo, Fla.) and Ashleigh Cole (Pace, Fla.) all garnered first team accolades, while Hillary Barrow (Miami, Fla.) and Abby McClain (Waterloo, Iowa) were selected to the second team. Marissa Menendez (Tampa, Fla.) rounded out the Knights’ record number of selections by being named to the all-freshman team.

Lane earned a spot on the All-C-USA first team for the second-consecutive year after setting the league record with 21 career triples, while ranking sixth nationally in 2010 with six triples and seventh with a .12 triples per game average. Lane leads the Knights this season in triples, total bases (68) and slugging percentage (.479), while ranking second in batting average (.310), runs scored (25), hits (44), doubles (9), RBI (18) and stolen bases (12).

After being named to the All-Freshman Team in 2009, Land put together an impressive sophomore campaign this season to earn her first selection to the first team. The second baseman paces the Knights in batting average (.317), runs scored (29), hits (46), sacrifice hits (15) and stolen bases (17), and sits among the top-10 in C-USA in five different categories. Land was also recently named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III Second Team for her work both on the field and in the classroom.

Cole garnered first-team distinction after putting together the best season of her career in the circle for the Black and Gold. The senior boats a 21-12 record, making her only the fourth pitcher in program history to tally 20 or more wins in a season, with a 1.53 ERA, five shutouts and 149 strikeouts in 224.2 innings pitched. Cole ranks in the league’s top-10 in eight different pitching categories. Most impressive about Cole’s senior season is the fact that she earned three wins over ranked opponents, including No. 16 Tennessee, No. 9 Alabama and No. 22 Ohio State. In six starts against teams ranked in the top-25, Cole totaled a 1.75 ERA, one shutout, 26 strikeouts and a .198 opponent batting average this season.

McClain was also a repeat selection to the All-C-USA Second Team after being voted to the squad last season. The junior started all 53 games behind the plate for Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ this season, catching 14 runners stealing and picking off one on the basepaths. Offensively, McClain leads Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ in on-base percentage (.399), walks (22) and times hit by pitch (6), while ranking third in batting average (.291), runs (25), hits (43), doubles (7) and home runs (2). Like Land, McClain was also recognized by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) with a spot on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District First Team. With her selection to the first team, McClain is now eligible for the organization’s Academic All-America® consideration.

One of the Knights’ five seniors, Barrow was voted onto the second team after averaging a team-best 0.69 RBI per game as Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½’s No. 3 batter. The third baseman posted a team-high 36 RBI during her senior campaign, while also leading the squad in runs scored (29), doubles (10), home runs (5) and assists (122). Barrow hit her first career grand slam against Cornell at the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Softball Complex, while pacing Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ with eight multiple-RBI games.

One of 11 rookies to be named to the C-USA All-Freshman Team, Menendez earned respect around the league after batting .252 on the season with 38 hits, four doubles, three triples and one home run. Menendez was the only freshman on the Knights’ roster to start all 53 regular-season contests, including 24 at first base, 15 as the designated player and 14 at second base. The rookie posted three-game winning RBI, including game-winners against both No. 16 Tennessee and No. 9 Alabama.

The No. 3-seeded Knights are set to take on No. 6-seed UTEP Thursday in the opening round of the C-USA Championship hosted by Houston at the Cougar Softball Stadium. First pitch for the contest is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET.

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ will face No. 6-seed UTEP in the opening round of the C-USA Championship Thursday at 9 p.m. ET at Cougar Softball Stadium.

Marissa Menendez (Tampa, Fla.) added a pair of hits and a walk in the game against UTEP, while Ashleigh Cole (Pace, Fla.) tallied a hit and two RBI.

Cole also earned the win in the circle for the Knights, allowing five runs on 11 hits, while striking out three in her 29th complete-game of the year. The hurler improved her record to a career-best 21-12.

For the third-consecutive contest, Lane scored the first run of the game. The junior led off the game with an infield single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Natalie Land (Mayo, Fla.) and stole third base. With Lane perched a mere one base from home, Hillary Barrow (Miami, Fla.) tallied RBI number 36 on the season with a perfectly placed blooper over the pitcher’s head to once again give Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ an early lead.

It was Lane again who was responsible for giving the Black and Gold a four-run advantage, as she crushed a 2-2 delivery from UTEP starter Stacie Townsend off the scoreboard in right centerfield with runners on first and second in the top of the second. Mary Helen Tyler (Marianna, Fla.) reached base on a fielding error by UTEP’s first baseman to lead off the frame, before Perez put two runners on with a single up the middle of the infield to set up Lane for the three-run shot.

The Miners cut the Knights’ lead to three runs in the bottom of the frame on a solo home run from senior Ashley Ellis, but Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ took the run back in the top of the third on a RBI single to right field off the bat of Cole.

Two more runs scored in the top of the fourth for the Black and Gold, with one coming courtesy of the one-two punch of Lane and Land. Lane reached safely on her third hit of the contest and Land knocked her around with a double to right centerfield. With two outs, three-straight walks would allow Land to touch home and score the seventh run of the contest and extend Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½’s lead to six runs.

Land finished the game with a double, a RBI, one run scored and a sacrifice hit.

UTEP’s Ellis proved to be a thorn in the Knights’ side in the contest, as she added a two-RBI single to her stat line in the bottom of the fifth to cut Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½’s lead to four.

UTEP kept chipping away at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½’s lead after posting single runs in both the sixth and seventh innings, but Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ was able to hang on for the win and complete the sweep.

The Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ softball team is set to compete in the Conference USA Championship hosted by Houston on May 13-15. The top eight teams in league standings will participate in the single-elimination tournament, with the winning team earning C-USA’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

The win over the Golden Hurricane improved the Knights’ record to 29-20 overall and 13-7 in league action, while it also moved the Black and Gold into second place in the C-USA standings, just behind East Carolina.

Cole improved her record to 18-12 on the year with her victory in the circle, as she struck out two batters and walked only one in the outing.

“Today just shows how much of a warrior Ashleigh is,” head coach Renee Luers-Gillispie said. “To be able to pitch nine innings yesterday and within 12 hours to come back and pitch a great game takes a lot of heart. She has really worked hard on getting her level of fitness to level it needs to be to stay in those long games. It just shows that all the hard work she has done has paid off.

Fellow seniors Barrow and Mary Helen Tyler (Marianna, Fla.) also came up big in the clutch for Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ in the victory. Barrow posted a hit and scored the game-winning run, while Tyler drove Barrow in with her game-winning RBI single in the fourth inning.

“Senior day is always emotional,” Luers-Gillispie said. “You now know why many coaches wear sunglasses when they are out there honoring their seniors. We are really going to miss these seniors and they’ve worked so hard this year. They’ve been a great group of leaders and have always been the ones to push their teammates. Their inspiration to get to the post season is really helping them push the team to excel. I was really proud of how the team really stepped up for each other.”

All five of the seniors had their families in attendance to share this special day with them and the tight knit group of leaders was happy to share this experience with one another.