Feb. 21, 2005
UCF Baseball Game Notes in PDF Format
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ORLANDO - The longest homestand to start the season in UCF's Division I baseball history has finally come to an end with Tuesday's game at Bethune-Cookman. The Golden Knights finished the nine-game homestand 7-2 after falling to No. 20 Notre Dame 4-2 Sunday afternoon at Jay Bergman Field.
Tuesday's game at Bethune-Cookman is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. from Jackie Robinson Ballpark in Daytona Beach. The Golden Knights and Wildcats met once already in 2005, with UCF coming out on top 7-1 February 8 in Orlando.
Over the weekend, UCF defeated Florida A&M Friday night 10-2 before topping the Fighting Irish 2-1 Saturday along with Sunday's 4-2 loss. Bethune-Cookman earned its first win of the season with a 3-1 victory over Tennessee in the series finale in Knoxville Saturday.
The Vols defeated B-CC 13-5 and 15-2 in the first two games of the series.
Tuesday's game will have live coverage on ucfathletics.com with an Internet broadcast and live gametracker stats.
Bergman in Elite Company
UCF head coach Jay Bergman is one victory away from tying former Arizona State head coach Jim Brock (1972-94) for 21st place in NCAA history in career coaching victories. Bergman has 1,098 career wins, one shy of Brock's 1,099 victories.
With two more wins, Bergman will become just the 21st head coach in NCAA history to reach the 1,100-win plateau.
Among active NCAA head coaches, Bergman is 10th in career wins. He would become the 10th active head coach to reach the 1,110-win mark in the NCAA.
New Attendance Record at JBF
UCF set a two-game series attendance record vs. No. 20 Notre Dame Feb. 19-20 at Jay Bergman Field. The series drew 3,156 fans, topping the old two-game series mark of 2,922 set in 2001 vs. Florida International in the first series ever at Jay Bergman Field.
The 3,156 fans for the series also marked the third-largest crowd for a weekend series as well, despite being only a two-game set.
The fifth-largest crowd in stadium history - 1,650 - were on hand for the series finale vs. Notre Dame on Feb. 20. The eighth-largest crowd at Jay Bergman Field - 1,506 - came out to watch the first game of the Notre Dame series (Feb. 19).
In the Polls
UCF moved up four spots in this week's Collegiate Baseball News Top 30 poll to No. 26. The Golden Knights are not currently ranked in Baseball America's Top 25 or the Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches poll. UCF is No. 22 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers poll.
Best Start since `01
UCF's 7-2 record to begin the season is the best start since 2001 for the Golden Knights. UCF opened the 2001 campaign 7-2 en route to a 50-win season (51-14).
Inside the B-CC Series
UCF leads the all-time series 56-13 after the Golden Knights' 7-1 win Feb. 8 at Jay Bergman Field.
The Golden Knights have won five straight games in the series and four consecutive games at Jackie Robinson Ballpark in Daytona Beach.
In 2005, UCF plays B-CC again four times, including two games in Daytona Beach and two in Orlando.
Back in the Swing of Things
Courtney Propst missed most of last season with a leg injury at Seminole Community College. A January enrollee at UCF, Propst has paid immediate dividends in the UCF lineup.
The Orlando native is a perfect 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts, first on the team, including four vs. No. 20 Notre Dame. Propst also hit his first career home run - UCF's second of the season - in the series finale vs. the Irish.
Off to the Races
UCF has picked up where it left off in 2004 on the bases. After stealing 111 bases in 2004 - tied for sixth best in school history - the Golden Knights have stolen 21 bases in 26 attempts in 2005.
In the Notre Dame series, UCF ran wild, going a perfect 10-for-10 in two games vs. the Fighting Irish, including seven in the first game of the series.
Not So Fast My Friend
The Golden Knights have been even more impressive in shutting down an opponent's running game. UCF has yielded just five stolen bases in 13 attempts on the year, thanks in large part to junior catcher Drew Butera.
Butera, one of the top defensive catchers in the nation, has thrown out 8-of-12 would-be base stealers on the season.
On the Hill for UCF
Junior right-hander Ray Rodriguez is scheduled to make his second career start Tuesday night at Bethune-Cookman. The New York native has pitched well so far in 2005 for the Golden Knights.
Rodriguez enters the game with a 1-0 record and 1.86 ERA in three appearances. In 9.2 innings, Rodriguez has allowed five hits with eight strikeouts. Opponents are batting just .152 against him, but Rodriguez has issued six free passes.
In his first career start vs. Le Moyne, Rodriguez gave up three unearned runs in 7.0 innings of work for the win. He struck out five and gave up three hits in the 10-3 victory over the Dolphins.
Dee Continues to Deliver
Senior left fielder Dee Brown drove in three runs vs. FIU in the series finale to move into fourth place in career RBI at UCF.
Brown drove in all three runs in UCF's 3-2 victory over the Golden Panthers.
For the season, Brown is batting .294 with 10 RBI.
Holding the Lead
UCF has been nearly unbeatable when leading after six innings since the 2002 season. The Golden Knights are an amazing 102-7 (.934) when leading after six innings over the last four seasons.
Jumping Out On Top
The Golden Knights were 25-4 in 2004 when scoring in the first inning. UCF also enjoyed playing with the lead, holding a record of 36-7 when scoring first in 2004.
In 2005, UCF is 6-0 when scoring first and 3-0 when scoring in the first inning of action.
Bombs Away
John-Michael Howell will always remember his first UCF home run. With the Golden Knights trailing 7-6 to Le Moyne in the seventh inning, Howell launched a 470-foot home run with a runner on to give UCF the lead for good, 8-7.
The monster blast landed at shortstop on the practice field, adjacent to Jay Bergman Field.
On Deck
UCF returns to the friendly confines of Jay Bergman Field this weekend for a three-game series vs. Monmouth. The three-game series begins Friday, February 25 at 6 p.m.