ORLANDO - The 20th-ranked UCF Golden Knights enter the 2004 NCAA Championship as the third seed in the Tallahassee Regional, hosted by Florida State University at Dick Howser Stadium. The Golden Knights will face No. 24 Oklahoma State, the regional’s No. 2 seed, Friday at 3:00 p.m. in Tallahassee.
The winner of the UCF-Oklahoma State game will face the winner of the Florida State-Bethune-Cookman winner Saturday. The host Seminoles are the No. 1 seed in the regional while Bethune-Cookman is the regional’s fourth seed.
UCF is the only school to receive an at-large bid to the Tallahassee regional. Florida State, Oklahoma State and Bethune-Cookman each won their respective conference tournament title. UCF won the A-Sun Regular Season Championship by three games over second-place Stetson.
All of UCF’s games in the NCAA Championship will air on the UCF ISP Sports Network (740-AM The Team). Listen to all of the action with the voice of the Golden Knights, Marc Daniels.
UCF In NCAAs
For the ninth time in school history, UCF received a bid to the NCAA Championships with its at-large selection to the Tallahassee Regional at Florida State. The Golden Knights will make their sixth trip to Tallahassee for NCAA play.
All-time, UCF is 10-16 all-time in the NCAA Championship. The last time UCF reached NCAAs was in 2002, when the Golden Knights went 1-2 in Tallahassee. UCF opened the 2002 NCAA Tallahassee Regional with a 6-1 win over USF before falling to No. 1 Florida State 7-3 and losing 7-2 to USF.
The Golden Knights are 5-10 all-time at Florida State in NCAA action.
Inside The OSU Series
For the third time in school history, UCF and Oklahoma State will meet on the baseball diamond Friday. The series is tied at one with both meetings coming in 1997 in the Olive Garden Classic. The Golden Knights lost 13-12 to the Cowboys before winning the next game 8-7 over OSU in the Olive Garden Classic.
All-time, UCF is 9-7 vs. teams from the Big 12 Conference.
Former UCF standout Mike Myers transferred from Oklahoma State after his freshman season with the Cowboys to UCF. The Florida native finished his career ranked in the top 10 in runs, hits, doubles, walks, hit by pitch, at-bats and stolen bases for the Golden Knights.
Scouting The Cowboys
For the first time in school history, Oklahoma State won the Big 12 Tournament Title with a thrilling, 10-9, 13-inning win over Missouri.
The Cowboys trailed 9-2 heading into the eighth inning but rallied to tie the game with five runs in the eighth and two in the ninth to send it to extra innings.
Oklahoma State has a rich tradition of baseball history after winning the final 16 Big 8 Conference titles. OSU has made the trek to Omaha, Neb., for the College World Series 19 times, second-most in NCAA history, winning the national title in 1959.
Four OSU players captured Big 12 All-Tournament Team honors including catcher Jason Jaramillo, shortstop Chris Gutierrez, third baseman Josh Fields and starting pitcher Spencer Grogan. Fields is also the starting quarterback for the Cowboys while Gutierrez is a native of Orlando.
Fields leads the team with a .370 batting average as OSU is hitting .314 as a team. The two-sport star has 20 doubles, 10 home runs and 47 RBI for OSU.
Grogan has been the team’s ace in 2004, leading OSU with a 12-2 record. In 125.2 innings of work, Grogan has seven complete games to lead the OSU pitching staff. Opponents are batting .296 vs. the left-hander.
As a team, OSU owns a team ERA of 4.41 including 382 strikeouts in 532.1 innings of work.
OSU and UCF have two common opponents in 2004. The Cowboys traveled to Stetson University for the Stetson Invitational in February. OSU defeated South Florida 8-4 and Stetson 17-3 to win the tournament title.
A-Sun All-Tournament Team
Sophomore catcher Drew Butera, freshman second baseman Matt Ray and junior left fielder Dee Brown all earned spots on the 2004 Atlantic Sun All-Tournament Team.
Butera led UCF with a .727 batting average (8-for-11) in the conference tournament. The Lake Mary native drove in three runs and scored twice.
Ray hit .389 and was stellar in the field with his glove at the A-Sun Tournament. Ray scored six times and stole three bases.
Brown hit .412 with eight RBI in four games for UCF to capture all-tournament honors.
Two Named All-Americans
Matt Fox and Kyle Bono were named Sports Weekly Second Team All-Americans. Both players are the first All-America honorees for UCF since the 2001 season when Jason Arnold and Justin Pope garnered All-America honors.
It marks just the seventh time in school history that UCF had a player garner All-America status. Fox and Bono join an elite list of players who have garnered All-America honors including Tim Barker (1985), Chad Mottola (1992), Justin Pope (2001), Jason Arnold (2001) and Jeremy Kurella (2001).
The latest honor for Fox adds to a long list the junior right-hander has received in 2004. The Atlantic Sun Pitcher-of-the-Year, Fox was also named a Midseason All-American by Baseball America. Also named the 51st rated prospect for the 2004 MLB Draft by Baseball America, Fox leads UCF with a 13-2 record. The Coral Springs native is third in school history with 13 wins and ranks fifth in single-season history with 119 strikeouts. In 104.0 innings, Fox has a 1.99 ERA.
Bono formed with Fox to form one of the nation’s top two pitching tandems in 2004. The sophomore from Lake Mary is 8-1 with a 1.79 ERA in 17 appearances including 14 starts. Bono also has two saves to go along with 101 strikeouts in 90.1 innings of work. A three-time A-Sun Pitcher-of-the-Week honoree, Bono was also named to the A-Sun All-Conference First Team.
Seven Capture A-Sun Honors
UCF junior pitcher Matt Fox was named the 2004 Atlantic Sun Pitcher-of-the-Year while UCF head coach Jay Bergman was named the 2004 Atlantic Sun Coach-of-the-Year, the conference office announced. In addition, six other UCF players garnered A-Sun First Team, Second Team or Freshmen Team honors.
Joining Fox on the A-Sun All-Conference First Team include sophomore pitcher Kyle Bono and junior outfielders Dee Brown and Clay Timpner. Junior shortstop Chandler Rose was chosen to the A-Sun All-Conference Second Team while freshmen RHP Taylor Meier and infielder Matt Ray garnered A-Sun All-Freshmen Team accolades.
Another 40-Win Campaign
For the 14th time under the legendary tenure of head coach Jay Bergman, UCF captured a 40-win season with its 11-0 win at Georgia State. The 40-win season marked the fourth time in five years UCF has reached the 40-win mark.
Bergman Continues To Win
UCF head coach Jay Bergman has moved into sole possession of 22nd place on the NCAA all-time victories list for a head coach. Bergman has 1,088 career wins, 11 victories behind former Arizona State head coach Jim Brock for 21st in the NCAA rankings. Bergman is just 12 wins away from becoming the 21st head coach in NCAA history to reach the 1,100-win plateau.
Plenty Of Zeros
The 2004 UCF baseball team has smashed the school record for single-season shutouts with 13, breaking the old mark of seven set in 1995 and 1977.
UCF Single-Season Shutouts
Rank Shutouts Year
1. 13 2004
2. 7 1995
2. 7 1977
4. 6 2001
4. 6 1997
4. 6 1990
Four Toss Shutouts
For the first time in school history, UCF has four different pitchers who have thrown complete-game shutouts in 2004. Kyle Bono leads the team with five and Matt Fox has three complete-game shutouts. Darren Newlin also fired a one-hit shutout vs. Belmont and Taylor Meier worked nine innings for a five-hit shutout of USF.
Bono Ties Career Shutout Mark
Kyle Bono tied Brian Ahern for UCF’s career lead in complete-game shutouts with his fifth vs. Troy State May 1. Bono limited the Trojans to seven hits with 10 strikeouts to improve to 7-0.
All five of Bono’s shutouts have come against A-Sun competition this season. The five shutouts are also a single-season record at UCF.
A First Time For Everything
After playing baseball for 31 seasons, the UCF baseball team accomplished something it never did before vs. Belmont. The Golden Knights swept their first three-game series without allowing a run, as they shutout the Bruins in all three games.
The last time UCF had three straight shutouts was in 1975. UCF shutout Bethune-Cookman in the final three games of a four-game series vs. the Wildcats. UCF blanked FIT 15-0 in the next game to set the school record with four consecutive shutout wins.
UCF In The Rankings
UCF is ranked No. 20 in the latest Collegiate Baseball News Top 30 poll. The Golden Knights are also receiving votes in this week’s Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches poll. UCF dropped out of Baseball America’s Top 25 poll after six straight weeks in the magazine’s top 25.
The highest ranking in school history was in 2001 when the Golden Knights reached as high as No. 7 in the national polls.
On The Hill For UCF
UCF will send ace right-hander Matt Fox to the mound Friday vs. Oklahoma State. The junior from Coral Springs leads UCF with a 13-2 record and 1.99 ERA in 16 starts this season.
Fox, a semifinalist for the Roger Clemens Award, was named a second team All-American by Sports Weekly and was also the A-Sun Pitcher-of-the-Year.
In 104 innings, Fox has 119 strikeouts and opponents are batting .185 against him. Fox is fifth in UCF single-season history in strikeouts and third in wins.
In UCF’s second game of the NCAA Regional, the Golden Knights are scheduled to start sophomore right-hander Kyle Bono.
Also named a second team All-American by Sports Weekly, Bono has joined Fox in giving the Knights one of the two 1-2 pitching tandems in the nation. Bono is 8-1 with a 1.79 ERA including two saves in 2004. In 90.1 innings, Bono has 101 strikeouts and opponents are batting .195 against him.
Bono pitched in just one game in the A-Sun Tournament, lasting 1.2 innings for the save vs. Gardner-Webb. He was hit by a line drive and was not able to pitch in Friday’s games vs. FAU and Troy.
First Inning Fireworks
The UCF offense has been explosive through the first inning in 2004. The Golden Knights are outscoring the opposition 56-27 in the first inning.
The early scoring has been a factor all season long for UCF. The Golden Knights’ best inning of the year is in the third, when UCF has outscored the opposition 63-18.
Getting The Green Light
Jay Bergman was confident in his team’s speed entering the 2004 season and his players are showing why Bergman was so confident. The Golden Knights have stolen 107 bases in 135 attempts on the year while limiting their opponents to just 53 steals in 81 attempts.
UCF stole a season-high eight bases May 14 vs. Mercer in the series opener.
The 2004 club is just the 11th team in school history to reach the 100-steal plateau.
UCF Team Stolen Base Leaders
Team Steals
1. 1985 253
2. 1981 204
3. 1986 130
4. 2001 115
5. 1990 113
6. 1995 111
7. 2004 107
7. 1984 107
7. 1988 107
10. 1987 106
11. 1996 104
12. 1999 100
Starting On The Right Note
UCF’s starting pitchers are 34-9 this season with a 3.09 ERA. In 60 appearances, the starters have totaled 327 strikeouts and just 142 walks in 340.2 innings of work.
Clay Continues To Produce
Clay Timpner will leave UCF with his name in several places in the UCF record books. The junior center fielder has started all 60 games this season for the Golden Knights and has put together his best season yet in Orlando.
Timpner ranks sixth in UCF single-season history with 66 runs, seventh in hits with 90 and fourth in stolen bases with 42. The LaBelle native is batting .381, tops on the team. Timpner also leads UCF in at-bats (236), doubles (17), triples (6), and home runs (5).
For his career, Timpner ranks sixth in school history with a .364 batting average. He is eighth in career runs (149), sixth in hits (235), ninth in total bases (335), sixth in triples (14), and third in stolen bases (75).
UCF vs. The Field At FSU
UCF is 4-0 in 2004 vs. Bethune-Cookman to improve its series record to 55-13 vs. the Wildcats. The Golden Knights are just 3-17 all-time vs. FSU, including a 2002 NCAA loss to then No. 1 Florida State in regional play.
UCF vs. teams in FSU Regional
Team W-L
Oklahoma State 1-1 (.500)
Florida State 3-17 (.150)
Bethune-Cookman 55-13 (.808)
#20 Baseball Heads To FSU For NCAA Regional Action
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