Writer - Austin Fackler
Orlando, FL - The UCF Knights were looking to snap a three-game losing streak on Friday night against Savannah State.
Chris Williams was on the mound for the Knights who was looking to pick up his second win of the season against the Tigers. After retiring the side in order in the first inning Williams got into a jam in the second but received some help from his infield who turned a big double play to help keep Savannah State scoreless in the top of the second. UCF got the bats going in the bottom of the 3rd when Alejo doubled down the left field line and later scored on a Thomas single to right field to give the Knights an early 1-0 lead After Williams again cruised through the top half of the inning the Knights would get some more offense in the bottom of the 4th that was started again with a double to left field by Wingo, after a wild pitched allowed him to get to third a Heiser Single to center would score Wingo to give the Knights a 2-0 lead. The Knights offense would continue to produce as they scored in the bottom of the 6th with a Osik homer to left to increase UCF’S lead to 3-0, and later in the bottom of the 7th Thomas would be hit by a pitch and steal second and after advancing to third would score on a wild pitch to give the Knights a 4-0 lead and that is all they would need. Savannah State had all they could handle with Williams who Struck out 9 batters while only allowing 4 hits and one walk through seven innings pitched. Williams would be relieved by Montgomery in the top of the 8th with the Knights leading 4-0 and that would be all she wrote as the Knights bullpen was able to slam the door to give UCF their second win on the season and improve to 2-3 on the season The Knights will be looking for their 3rd win of the season and second straight against the Tigers on Saturday night and 6:30pm.
Written by Austin Fackler
OVIEDO, Fla. - It was a beautiful day for baseball as the Knights looked to come out of their opening weekend 2-1.
The Knights were sitting at 1-1 on the season already after opening their season on Friday, coming into Sunday they were battling the also 1-1 Samford Bulldogs. UCF came in ranked as the 22nd college baseball team in the country. Samford got the scoring started in the top of the third when Troy Dixon tripled down the right field line scoring Sam Teague which gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. Shortly after, Austin Edens singled to center, which allowed Dixon to score giving Samford a 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the 4th however, UCF’S bats would come alive with Ray Alejo doubling and then stealing third. Then after an overthrow at third Alejo scored, the inning would not end there though. Following the score, Dallas Beaver and Brody Wofford were both hit by pitches and Tyler Osik walked to load to bases for pinch hitter Chandler Robertson. He would make the most of his opportunity , singling to right scoring two to help the Knights grab a 3-2 lead. The Knights bats would go quiet until the 7th inning when Matt Mika doubled down the left field line and after stealing third scored on another throwing error at third base which gave UCF a 4-2 lead. The Knights looked to be in control of the game heading into the top of the 9TH. However, the Bulldogs would not go away quietly, coming out swinging the bats getting two men on base quickly. Those both turned into runs for Samford tying the game at 4. Shortly after Samford would regain the lead on a single from Ryan Crockett that the Bulldogs would not relinquish. The Knights threatened in the bottom of the 9th as Robertson singled and was replaced by Max Wood for his speed, but it would not be enough after a single from Mika, Wood would try and score from second and was thrown out at home to end the game with Samford winning 5-4. The Knights next game will be played at Stetson on Tuesday starting at 6:30
Written by Brian Pohl
OVIEDO, Fla.- On the opening weekend of the 2018 college baseball season, John Euliand Park in Orlando, Florida welcomes three teams to UCF’s home park for a round robin tournament. The second night of action would bring us the 22nd ranked UCF Knights going up against the Rice Owls, where late-inning heroics by the Owls offense would lead them to a 5-4 victory over the Knights.
The loss moves UCF to 1-1 on the season, and the Knights will look to bounce back against Samford tomorrow to finish off their opening weekend round robin play. Despite the loss, UCF was given a strong starting pitching performance from sophomore Joe Sheridan, who gave the Knights 6 solid innings of work. Allowing just three hits in the outing, Sheridan was able to keep his pitch count in check and let his defense work behind him. Two inning-ending double plays in the fourth and fifth innings would get Sheridan out of trouble, and he handed the ball to his bullpen without giving up a run. Lovelady spoke on Sheridan's performance saying, “I mean it was just great. He got a bunch of groundballs, down in the bottom of the [strikezone] missing barrels. He got pitches when he needed and made big pitches.” Offense was hard to come by for the Knights for most of the game, as they faced off against a strong starting pitching performance from Rice’s Matt Canterino. Striking out eight UCF hitters, Canterino looked to be in full control, but the Knights would battle in the bottom of the sixth inning, forcing Rice head coach Wayne Graham to go to his bullpen. It was here where the Knights would strike, as sophomore Rylan Thomas would deliver a clutch sacrifice fly, driving in the first run of the game, and giving UCF a 1-0 lead. The Knights would get one more run in the inning off the bat of junior Tyler Osik, who hit a line drive single into left field, extending the UCF lead to 2-0. Rice would get one run back in the top of the 7th inning with a rbi single by senior Chace Sarchet, getting the Owls right back into the game. The heroics would come in the 8th inning, where, with a runner on base, freshman Justin Collins would launch a two-run home run over the left field wall, giving the Owls the 3-2 advantage in the late stages of the game. The Owls would extend their lead in the top of the ninth, giving them a 5-2 lead, and the bullpen would hold off a two-out bottom of the ninth rally by UCF to win the game 5-4. A big story in the loss for UCF was the play of their defense. Four errors on the night extended innings that would wind up costing them the win. Coach Lovelady was obviously disappointed in the play of the defense and spoke about the errors saying, “I just think we have got to be better mentally and be able to find a way to help the team win. If you are not doing one thing you’ve got to do the other. Our infield is supposed to be one of our strengths and to see those guys play that way is just frustrating.” Overall this was a tough loss for the Knights, who took a 2-1 lead late into the game, but the deficit became too large to overcome when they attempted to make their comeback in the final inning of the game. Splitting games against #15 UVA and Rice is nothing to scoff out, however and the Knights should be able to bounce back and build off the success they had in 2017. First pitch of UCF and Samford is Sunday at 2:00 p.m from John Euliano Park in Orlando, Florida.
Written by: Brian Pohl
ORLANDO, Fla.- The reigning American Athletic Conference champion and 22nd ranked UCF Knights opened the 2018 season with a 6-3 upset victory over the 15th ranked UVA Cavaliers.
In the second year under UCF head coach Greg Lovelady, the Knights look to repeat the successes they had in 2017, where they won their first AAC championship since joining in 2014. They started their 2018 season off with a bang as they outplayed perennial powerhouse UVA in their season opener. Thanks to clutch hitting and a shutdown bullpen performance, the UCF Knights move to 1-0 on the season and will look to keep momentum as they continue play in the opening weekend tournament. Lovelady on the victory, “That’s a big win, but like I told [the team] you don’t get rings and win championships on opening day so we need to come out tomorrow and play with that same opening day mentality against a really really good team.” The three and four hitters of the UCF lineup were the stars of the show, producing five of the six runs for the Knights in the opener. First baseman Rylan Thomas produced the first run of the game with a rbi single in the first inning, but his highlight came in the bottom of the third, where he connected for a two-run home run in the bottom of the third, giving the Knights a 3-1 advantage. The Cavs would even the game up at three, but it would be Dallas Beaver’s time to shine in the bottom of the fifth inning. The lefty would deliver an opposite-field home run, giving the Knights a 5-3 lead heading into the second half of the game. The pair of sophomores will be a big piece for this UCF squad and will be called upon often, hitting out of the three and four spots in the lineup. The Knights would extend their lead to 6-3 in the 8th with a rbi double by Brandon Hernandez, giving us our final score. Lovelady joked when asked about picking sophomore Dallas Beaver to breakout this season and his performance saying, “It makes me look like a genius right?” The starting pitcher for UCF was Junior Chris Williams, who gave the Knights five solid innings in the first game of the season. Limiting the Cavaliers to three runs in his five innings of work, Williams did enough to get the job done and handed the ball off to his bullpen for the final innings. In relief of Williams was JJ Montgomery, who would shut UVA down for four shutdown innings of work, including a rare four-inning save. Recording six strikeouts, Montgomery made quick work of the Cavs, only allowing just two base runners in his outing. Lovelady on Montgomery, “ JJ was phenomenal, he scared me a little those first couple hitters going 3-0 but I told him this was strategically part of the plan was to use those two guys[Williams and Montgomery] the whole game and it worked to perfection which rarely ever happens.” Consistent work out of the bullpen will be a key to success for the Knights, and if the opening game is any indication, then UCF is in great shape to contend to repeat as AAC champions in 2018. UCF takes on another tough challenge in Rice Saturday, where a victory would send a message across college baseball that the 2018 Knights are for real. First pitch of UCF vs Rice is at 5:00 p.m. from John Euliano Park in Orlando, Florida. |
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February 2018
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