ORLANDO - Adam Miller finished a perfect 6-for-6 in Friday?s doubleheader with Mercer to help lead UCF to a pair of wins over the Bears. The Golden Knights won the first game 7-4 and swept the doubleheader with a 5-4 victory in the nightcap. With the two wins, UCF improved to 35-20 overall and 22-7 in the Atlantic Sun conference. Mercer fell to 22-31 on the year and 13-16 in the conference.
In the series opener, UCF starter Bo Hall lasted 5.2 innings and racked up nine strikeouts to raise his record to a perfect 8-0 on the year. The Golden Knights took advantage of five Mercer errors en route to the 7-4 victory.
Miller finished the first game 3-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored to pace the Knights. Dee Brown, Clay Timpner and Jeremy Frost also had one RBI each for the victors.
After taking a 7-2 lead into the sixth inning, UCF held off the Bears as Mercer scored two times in the sixth before UCF reliever Zach Sutton slammed the door shut. Sutton picked up his team-leading sixth save of the season as he pitched the final 1.1 innings to preserve the UCF victory.
In the nightcap, UCF got off to a slow start as the Knights allowed an unearned run in the first to give Mercer a 1-0 lead. The advantage was short lived for Mercer, as Dee Brown belted his third home run of the season over the fence in left field to give UCF a 2-1 lead.
The Knights added two more runs in the fourth to extend the lead to 4-1. Miller drove in two runs with a RBI-single to center field to keep his perfect night going. Miller finished the doubleheader 6-for-6 with four RBIs.
UCF added an important insurance run in the fifth to increase the lead to 5-1. Mercer again did not go down without a fight, as the Bears scored three times in the sixth inning to make things interesting at 5-4.
With the score 5-3 and one out, UCF reliever Von David Stertzbach entered the contest with runners on second and third but managed to get the Knights out of the jam. Stertzbach allowed just a RBI-groundout before getting out of the jam when he forced Mercer?s Jason Gaines to line out and end the rally.
Stertzbach pitched the final 1.2 innings overall for his second save of the year. UCF starter Mark Michael lasted 5.1 innings and allowed three earned runs while totaling six strikeouts to improve to 7-3 on the season. Mercer starter Brian Jones (7-7) went the distance for the Bears and surrendered five runs on nine hits.
UCF will look for the series sweep, its second in two weekends, in A-Sun play Saturday. The Knights and Bears will begin play at
1 p.m., as it will be Senior Day at Jay Bergman Field. The Golden Knights will honor 12 seniors prior to the start of the game.
Miller Goes 6-for-6 In UCF's Doubleheader Sweep Of Mercer
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