April 5, 2005
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ORLANDO - Two old rivals meet on the baseball diamond Tuesday as No. 25 UCF (27-7) visits USF (20-13) at 7 p.m. The Golden Knights travel down I-4 to Red McEwen Field for their first of three meetings vs. the Bulls in 2005. UCF picked up an important series win at Stetson over the weekend while USF picked up a doubleheader sweep at Louisville for sole possession of first place in Conference USA. The Bulls and Cardinals played only two games due to rain over the weekend in Louisville.
UCF leads the A-Sun with a 9-3 conference mark while USF is on top of C-USA with a 7-1 record. UCF joins Conference USA in the fall of 2005 while USF leaves C-USA for the BIG EAST.
Tuesday's game will air live on the UCF ISP Sports Network with Marc Daniels on the call. The action begins with the pregame show at 6:45 p.m. on 740-AM The Team.
Inside the USF Series
USF leads the all-time series 44-43 over the Golden Knights. UCF has played more games vs. USF than any other non-conference opponent.
Last season USF won two of three over the Golden Knights, but UCF won the last meeting 6-0 over the Bulls May 4 in Orlando.
In the Polls
UCF is ranked No. 25 in this week's Collegiate Baseball rankings. The Golden Knights dropped from No. 18 to No. 25 after going 2-2 last week vs. Stetson and Jacksonville.
The Golden Knights fell out of this week's Baseball America rankings as well. UCF is receiving votes in this week's Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches Poll.
Scouting USF
The USF Bulls are 20-13 entering Tuesday's game vs. UCF. The Bulls won two games at Louisville over the weekend to take sole possession of first place in Confernce USA with a 7-1 league mark.
USF is hitting . 271 as a team and the Bulls' team ERA stands at 4.61.
Senior Jeff Baisley leads the team offensively with a .375 batting average in 33 games. Baisley has 17 doubles - tops on the team - along with four home runs and 39 RBI.
Only two USF regulars bat over .300 - Baisley and senior outfielder Tim Orlosky (.300, 4 HR, 10 RBI).
On the mound, the Bulls are scheduled to start freshman left-hander Blake Tillett on the mound Tuesday. The southpaw is 2-0 on the season with a 4.38 ERA. In 12.1 innings of work, Tillett has yielded 14 hits, six runs, seven walks and eight strikeouts. Opponents are batting .269 against him.
On the Hill for UCF
Redshirt junior Taylor Cobb gets the start Tuesday vs. the Bulls. In three appearances this season, Cobb is 2-0 with a 3.94 ERA. In 16 innings, Cobb has given up 12 hits and seven runs with four walks and 10 strikeouts. Opponents are batting just .218 off the right-hander.
A Long Road Back
Taylor Cobb made his comeback complete March 6 vs. Siena. Pitching for the first time since May 10, 2003, Cobb was phenomenal in leading UCF to a 5-2 win over the Saints. Cobb missed all of 2004 with an arm injury.
In the start vs. Siena, Cobb pitched 6.0 innings and threw just 59 pitches. He allowed one run on three hits with five strikeouts for his first win since April 29, 2003 at Charleston Southern. The last time Cobb won a game he started prior to Siena was March 21, 2003 at Samford.
Butera on Bench Award List
Drew Butera was named to the official Watch List for the 2005 Johnny Bench Award announced by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission. Thirty-seven catchers from 16 conferences were nominated for the award by their coaches. Because the award is given annually to the top National Collegiate Catcher, the list will be updated to include other candidates until May 2, 2005.
The watch list will be narrowed down to 10 semifinalists, whom will be announced May 17, 2005. A comprehensive biography will be created on each of the semifinalists and sent to the national voting panel at the end of May for a vote to determine the three finalists. The finalists will be announced on June 1, 2005, prior to the NCAA Regionals and Major League Baseball Draft. A final vote among the national committee will occur during the College World Series. All finalists will be brought to Wichita and the winner will be announced at the 8th Annual Greater Wichita Sports Banquet on June 29, 2005.
Johnny Bench presented Cal State Fullerton catcher, Kurt Suzuki, with the award last June in Wichita, Kan. Chris Iannetta of the University of North Carolina and Landon Powell of the University of South Carolina were the other finalists for the award.