BUIES CREEK, N.C. – UCF junior pitcher Matt Fox fired his first complete game shutout of his career to lead UCF to a 2-0 victory at Campbell Friday evening in Buies Creek, N.C. Fox (6-0) set a new career-high with 15 strikeouts and yielded just four hits as he won his fifth straight start of the season. Fox has not allowed an earned run over his last 33.2 innings and has also tossed 18.2 straight innings of scoreless baseball.
The win was the eighth straight of the season for UCF (18-4, 6-1 A-Sun) while Campbell dropped to 9-10, 3-4 with the loss.
“It was one of the best pitching performances I have ever seen,” commented UCF head coach Jay Bergman. “It was possibly the most dominant single-game pitching performance we have ever had,” added UCF pitching coach Craig Cozart.
Fox was in control all night long as he struck out the side in the second, third, fifth and ninth innings for the complete game gem. His 15 strikeouts marked the third time this season he has recorded 10-plus strikeouts and the fifth time in his career.
The last time a UCF pitcher struck out 15 batters was Justin Pope at Mercer on March 30, 2001. The last time a UCF pitcher tossed a nine-inning complete game was Bo Hall vs. South Florida May 30, 2002 in the NCAA Tournament.
Marshall Bernhard drove in the first run of the game with a two-out, RBI-single to score Ryan Bono in the UCF second.
Chandler Rose extended the lead to 2-0 in the fifth inning with a two-out, RBI-double to score Bernhard.
Campbell looked to close the lead to 2-1 in the sixth, but Dee Brown threw out the runner at the plate to end the inning.
The three-game series finishes Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Sophomore pitcher Kyle Bono starts game one for the Golden Knights while junior Jaime Douglas gets the nod in the second game Saturday.
Fox Tosses Four-Hit Shutout To Defeat Campbell
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