March 3, 2005
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ORLANDO - No. 26 UCF (12-2) returns to Jay Bergman Field for a four-game series vs. Siena (1-3) Friday-Sunday in Orlando. The Golden Knights have won five straight games entering Friday's series opener at 6 p.m. The two teams will play a day-night doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. and are scheduled to close out the series Sunday at 1 p.m.
UCF played one of its best all-around games of the season Tuesday with a 9-2 victory at Bethune-Cookman. The Golden Knights hit two home runs in the game - back-to-back blasts by Ryan Bono and John-Michael Howell - and Ray Rodriguez pitched 7.2 innings in the seven-run win.
Siena opened the season last week in the Central Florida area with a win at Bethune-Cookman before losing all three games at Stetson.
All four games this weekend will have live Internet coverage with game broadcasts and live gametracker stats on ucfathletics.com.
Bergman's Milestone Wins
With his 1,100 win vs. Monmouth on Feb. 25, Jay Bergman is in sole possession of 21st place in NCAA history in career wins.
Bergman is 55 wins behind former Washington State skipper Chuck Brayton for 20th place in NCAA history.
No.OpponentScoreYear1at Rollins6-51976 *50at Kentucky6-41977 *100vs. Old Dominion13-11979 *500Wisc.-Milwaukee6-119901,000at Florida Atlantic14-920021,100Monmouth4-12005
* as Florida head coach
In the Polls
UCF remained at No. 26 in the Collegiate Baseball News Top 30 poll this week. The Golden Knights also moved up to No. 21 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 25 as well. UCF is not ranked by Baseball America or the ESPN/Sports Weekly Coaches poll.
The Century Mark
UCF is in its fifth season in Jay Bergman Field and the Golden Knights have played excellent baseball since the state-of-the-art facility has opened.
UCF is 107-37 (.743) all-time in the ballpark, after last season's 24-7 mark at home.
Best Start since `96
UCF's 12-2 record to begin the season is the best start since 1996 for the Golden Knights. UCF opened the 1996 campaign 15-2 en route to a 40-win season and a spot in the NCAA Championships.
UCF is 19-1 all-time vs. Siena entering this weekend's four-game series. The Saints are the second Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference team the Golden Knights have faced in 2005 after winning two of three games vs. Le Moyne in February.
The last time UCF played Siena was in 2002 at Jay Bergman Field. UCF swept the two-game series from the Saints, 8-5 and 6-1.
UCF has won 19 straight games over the Saints. The last time Siena defeated UCF was a 6-4 victory in 1977, the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
Scouting Siena
The Saints of Siena College bring a 1-3 record to Jay Bergman Field this weekend. Last season, Siena finished 27-26 overall and 13-12 in the MAAC.
Siena returns 17 letterwinners from last season's club, including the team's No. 1 starter John Lannan. The 6-5 southpaw was 7-3 with a 3.84 ERA in 2004. He totaled 54 strikeouts in 72.2 innings of work.
In his first start of the season vs. Bethune-Cookman, Lannan fanned nine in five scoreless innings of work. He is the scheduled starter for Siena Friday.
Saturday the Saints are scheduled to pitch junior Ken Grant. The 6-7 right-hander was named to Collegiate Baseball's Freshman All-American honorable mention team in 2002 after going 5-4 with a 6.05 ERA. In 2004, Grant was 3-5 with a 4.84 ERA in 57.2 innings of work. He totaled a season-high 15 strikeouts vs. Rider last season. In 2005, Grant was roughed up in his lone start vs. Stetson. In 3.1 innings of work, Grant allowed six hits and six runs with five walks and three strikeouts.
In game two Saturday, Siena will turn to senior right-hander Josh Burnett. The Delmar, New York, native is coming off a 5-2 season in 2004 in which he posted a 5.53 ERA in 40.2 innings of work. Burnett pitched five innings in a losing effort at Stetson last weekend. He allowed three runs on six hits in five innings.
In Sunday's series finale, the Saints are scheduled to start sophomore right-hander Trevor Reid. The Harrisburg, Pa., product was 3-2 with a 6.35 ERA in 2004. In his first start of 2005 vs. Stetson, Reid was tagged for seven runs on eight hits in three innings of work vs. the Hatters.
Siena's offense is batting .276 after four games in 2005. In 2004, Siena hit .274 as a team with 20 home runs.
On the Hill for UCF
The Golden Knights will send four right-handers to the mound this weekend vs. Siena.
On Friday, senior Darren Newlin looks to win his fourth game of the season in as many starts. Newlin has been terrific in 2005, going 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA. In 18 innings, the Tallahassee native has yielded 15 hits, two earned runs, five walks and 20 strikeouts. Opponents are hitting just .227 vs. the righty.
Saturday junior Mike Billek gets his turn in the rotation. The hard-throwing right-hander earned his first win of the season last weekend vs. Monmouth. Billek is 1-0 with a 3.28 ERA on the season, including 21 strikeouts in 24.2 innings of work.
In game two Saturday, sophomore Tim Bascom gets the nod. Last weekend, Bascom set a career-high with 10 strikeouts in a dominating performance vs. Monmouth. On the season, Bascom has been sensational in his transition from the bullpen to the starting rotation. He is 2-1 with a 2.73 ERA in 26.1 innings of work. Bascom leads UCF with 25 strikeouts.
Sunday, UCF welcomes the return of junior Taylor Cobb to the mound. Cobb missed all of 2004 with an arm injury. The 6-6 right-hander gives UCF another talented arm in the rotation. The last time Cobb pitched was May 10, 2003 at Stetson.
Ray Rod
Junior right-hander Ray Rodriguez has been a pleasant surprise in the UCF starting rotation in 2005. Rodriguez has been dominant in three starts on the hill for the Golden Knights.
Rodriguez is 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA in 23.1 innings of work. The New York native has given up just 14 hits, five earned runs and nine free passes along with 19 strikeouts. Rodriguez has limited the opposition to a .167 batting average in 2005, the best average for a UCF starting pitcher.
Holding the Lead
UCF has been nearly unbeatable when leading after six innings since the 2002 season. The Golden Knights are an amazing 108-7 (.939) 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 9-0 when scoring first and 5-0 when scoring in the first inning of action.
Back-to-Back Jacks
Ryan Bono and John-Michael Howell drilled back-to-back home runs at Bethune-Cookman on March 1. Prior to the game vs. Bethune-Cookman, the last time two UCF players hit back-to-back jacks was May 8, 2004 at No. 13 Clemson when Drake Wade and Jon Cooper went deep.
On Deck
UCF hosts St. Joseph's of the Atlantic 10 Conference Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Jay Bergman Field. After Tuesday's game vs. the Hawks, UCF begins its final season of play in the Atlantic Sun with a three-game series vs. Campbell, March 11-12 in Orlando.