Feb. 20, 2005
ORLANDO - UCF sophomore center fielder Courtney Propst finished 2-for-4 with his first career home run, but it was not enough as the Golden Knights stranded 12 runners on base in a 4-2 loss to No. 20 Notre Dame. The Golden Knights missed out on several opportunities all weekend long vs. the Fighting Irish, as UCF left 22 runners on base in the two-game series split.
A season-high crowd of 1,650 filed into Jay Bergman Field for the series finale. A two-game series record of 3,156 fans witnessed the Notre Dame series, breaking the old two-game series mark of 2,922 set vs. Florida International in 2001 during the first weekend of play at Jay Bergman Field.
The loss dropped UCF to 7-2 overall while Notre Dame improved to 3-1 on the season.
"In two games we left 22 runners on and only scored four runs," said UCF head coach Jay Bergman. "It's pretty obvious; we just need to cash in our opportunities."
UCF had its chances early to do some damage vs. Notre Dame starter Jess Stewart. In the first inning, Stewart walked the first two batters of the game before inducing a double play off the bat of Matt Horwath to wiggle out of the jam.
Notre Dame took advantage of a two-out RBI in the fourth when Danny Dressman stroked a single to center field, scoring Craig Cooper to give the Irish a 1-0 lead.
UCF tied the game at one in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Drew Butera. The Golden Knights had a chance for a big inning with the bases loaded and one out, but could only manage one run in the frame.
Notre Dame put the game away with a three-spot in the sixth. Cooper and Dressman tallied RBI while Cody Rizzo also drove in a run with a RBI single to give the Irish a 4-1 lead.
Propst smacked his first career home run in the seventh to lead off the inning, closing the gap to 4-2. UCF totaled three hits in the inning, but Ryan Bono grounded into an inning-ending double play to erase the Golden Knight threat.
Stewart (1-0) was in control for the Irish, pitching 5.1 innings for the win. The sophomore right-handed yielded one unearned run on five hits with a strikeout and three walks. Junior Ryan Doherty pitched the final 1.2 innings for his first save of the season.
UCF out-hit Notre Dame 10-7, including two hits apiece by Propst, Horwath and John-Michael Howell.
The Golden Knights hit the road for the first time in 2005 Tuesday at Bethune-Cookman. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. from Jackie Robinson Ballpark in Daytona Beach. Junior Ray Rodriguez is the scheduled starter for UCF.
Game Notes: Notre Dame leads the all-time series 4-3 ... Sunday's 4-2 victory was Notre Dame's first-ever at UCF (1-3) ... UCF left a season-high 12 runners on base in the loss ... the Golden Knights were 10-for-10 in stolen base opportunities in the series vs. Notre Dame ... Drew Butera threw out two of the four runners attempting to steal Sunday ... for the season, opponents are just 4-for-12 in stolen base opportunities vs. the junior catcher ... Drake Wade left the game in the ninth inning with a pulled muscle.