ORLANDO – Clay Timpner tied a career-high with four RBI to lead No. 19 UCF to an 8-5 victory over Mercer to clinch a share of the 2004 Atlantic Sun Regular Season Championship. The Golden Knights won the A-Sun Regular Season for the fourth time in five years and can clinch the league title outright with just one win next weekend at Georgia State.
Mercer won the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader 6-0 as the Golden Knights were shutout for just the second time this season.
With the split, UCF raised its record to 39-12 overall and 21-6 in the A-Sun while Mercer dropped to 19-32 overall and 8-19 in the league.
Mercer starter Brian Jones tossed a complete-game shutout in game one to become the first pitcher in over a year to throw a complete-game shutout vs. UCF. Jones also dealt Kyle Bono (8-1) his first loss of the season. The sophomore right-hander lasted just 4.1 innings, his shortest career start. Bono yielded five runs, three earned, with three strikeouts.
In game two, UCF scored one run in the first inning after back-to-back doubles by Dee Brown and Ryan Bono. Bono’s double scored Brown to give UCF a 1-0 advantage.
Mercer tied the game at one in the second before UCF responded with a RBI double off the bat of Brown in the third to give the Golden Knights a 2-1 lead.
Mercer continued to battle back with one run in the fourth to tie the game at two before UCF scored six runs over the fourth and fifth innings to put the game out of reach.
In the fourth, Timpner singled up the middle with two outs to score two runs, giving UCF a 4-2 lead.
Mercer scored once in the fifth to slice the lead to 4-3, but Chandler Rose and Drew Butera each connected on RBI singles in the fifth and Timpner added another two-run hit to extend the lead to 8-3.
The Bears scored two runs in the seventh, but Mike Mercadante earned the final out for his first career save.
UCF starter Darren Newlin pitched effectively, lasting 4.1 innings for his fourth win of the year. Newlin (4-0) struck out three and allowed one earned run for the win.
Brown led UCF with three hits and two runs scored while Timpner and Ryan Bono each added two hits for the victors.
UCF closes out the 2004 regular season with a five-game road trip next week. The Golden Knights visit No. 8 Notre Dame Tuesday-Wednesday in South Bend. The Golden Knights close out the regular season next weekend with a three-game series at Georgia State.
The UCF ISP Sports Network will both games of the Notre Dame series. The pregame show starts at 6:50 p.m. with the voice of the Golden Knights, Marc Daniels. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. Tuesday in South Bend.
Game Notes: UCF had its 10-game winning streak snapped vs. Mercer in the first game of the doubleheader … The Golden Knights were shutout in game one for just the second time in 2004 … Kyle Bono has 98 strikeouts on the year, eighth in UCF single-season history … Clay Timpner tied a career-high with four RBI in game two … Timpner also moved into a tie for seventh place on UCF’s all-time hits list with Eric Riggs (216) … UCF totaled 11 hits in game two to raise its record to 23-3 on the season when totaling 10+ hits.
No. 19 Baseball Clinches Share Of A-Sun Title
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