March 5, 2005
ORLANDO - Sophomore pitcher Tim Bascom totaled a career-high 17 strikeouts to propel No. 26 UCF (14-3) past Siena (2-5) 9-2 Saturday evening at Jay Bergman Field. Bascom was one strikeout shy of tying the school record for strikeouts in a game. Three UCF pitchers have thrown 18 strikeouts in a game to set the record with the last being Jay Scott vs. Bradley in 1988.
Bascom went the distance for his first career complete game. The right-hander allowed two runs on six hits with 17 strikeouts and no walks.
"Tim had a great game tonight," stated UCF head coach Jay Bergman. "He came out a little sluggish and then got on such a roll. I was concerned about his pitch count in the late innings, but when you get that close to a school record, you can't deny a player the opportunity to make history."
"Everything felt good tonight and I really got into a groove," stated Bascom. "A key for me was to hit both sides of the plate and to get ahead with a first pitch strike."
The 17 strikeouts were the most for Bascom ever in game at any level of competition. At one point, Bascom fanned 12 of 16 batters, including six straight from the sixth to eighth inning.
The UCF offense provided Bascom with plenty of run support as the Golden Knights hammered out 10 hits. The Golden Knights stole eight bases between three players - three each by Courtney Propst and Tyson Auer - along with two stolen bases by Kevin Richmond.
Both teams scored in the first inning and UCF added two in the second to take a 3-1 lead. The score remained 3-1 until the fifth when UCF added another single run to push the lead to 4-1. The Golden Knights finally broke the game open on one swing in the seventh on a monster, three-run home run by John-Michael Howell. Howell leads the Golden Knights with three home runs on the season.
UCF added a pair of runs in the eighth and Siena scored one in the ninth to close out the scoring at 9-2.
Matt Ray finished 2-for-5 with a run scored while Marshall Bernhard was 2-for-3 for the victors. Richmond also collected two hits for UCF.
The Golden Knights look to win the series tomorrow with junior Taylor Cobb on the mound. First pitch is set for noon at Jay Bergman Field.
Game Notes: UCF improved to 21-2 all-time vs. Siena with the win ... in two games Saturday, UCF's pitching staff totaled 33 strikeouts vs. Siena ... UCF's two starting pitchers Saturday (Mike Billek and Tim Bascom) combined for 29 of the strikeouts ... Bascom had two strikes on the final batter of the game, but the Golden Knights turned a double play to end the game ... the eight stolen bases were a season-high for UCF ... the last time a UCF pitcher threw a complete-game (nine innings) at home was Taylor Meier vs. USF in 2004 (May 4, 2004).