April 17, 2006
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ORLANDO - UCF hosts USF in the rubber game of the three-game season series Tuesday at Jay Bergman Field. The I-4 rivals meet at 6:30 p.m. in Orlando with the season series tied at one.
? UCF (21-18, 4-5 C-USA) won 11-0 at USF on April 4 while the Bulls (17-20, 7-8 Big East) topped UCF on its home field 4-3 last Tuesday. The 4-3 victory for the Bulls on April 11 was their first road win of the season. USF is 1-7 away from home in 2006.
? The Golden Knights lost two-of-three games in a hard-fought series at No. 23 Tulane over the weekend. The Green Wave captured the series with a 7-6 victory on Sunday. USF won two-of-three over Big East foe Louisville over the weekend at Red McEwen Field in Tampa.
? With a win over USF, the Golden Knights will capture the season series from the Bulls for the second straight year. The last time UCF won back-to-back season series from USF was from 1998-99.
? Sophomore center fielder Tyson Auer is expected to play Tuesday vs. USF. Auer has missed the last nine games with a finger injury. Auer leads UCF with a .369 batting average and is the team's top defensive outfielder.
? Tuesday's game will air live on the UCF ISP Sports Network. The "Voice of the Golden Knights" Marc Daniels will have the call from Jay Bergman Field. The pregame show begins at 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday.
? Audio of the game is available on UCFAthletics.com as part of the "Golden Knights All-Access" package.
Inside the USF Series
? UCF faces its second-oldest rival on the baseball diamond Tuesday when USF visits Jay Bergman Field. The all-time series is tied at 46.
? As a team, UCF is batting .292 vs. the Bulls this season. The Golden Knights have two home runs and are a perfect 6-for-6 in stolen bases vs. USF in 2006.
? On the mound, UCF sports a team ERA of 2.00 in 18 innings vs. USF in 2006. The Golden Knights have issued just three walks as a pitching staff and totaled 12 strikeouts.
? Offensively, UCF has struck out 22 times vs. USF this season.
? Senior catcher Ryan Bono leads UCF with a .500 batting average vs. USF in 2006. He has one double and four RBI vs. the Bulls.
The Book on USF
? Winners of three of their last four games, the Bulls of USF enter Tuesday's game with an overall record of 17-20, including a 7-8 mark in the Big East.
? USF is currently sixth in the Big East standings. Notre Dame leads the conference with an 11-1 mark.
? The Bulls are batting .285 as a team in 37 games this season. The team has hit just 11 home runs and only stolen 19 bases in 2006.
? On the mound, USF has an ERA of 4.69 in 339.2 innings of work. Opponents are batting .287 vs. the USF pitching staff.
? USF has yet to name a starter for Tuesday.
Starting on the Mound for UCF
? Redshirt sophomore Taylor Meier will start Tuesday on the mound for UCF. The 6-foot-7 righty is 0-1 with a 5.91 ERA in five appearances this season.
? Meier, who missed all of last season with an arm injury, pitched well in his last start vs. East Carolina on April 9. Meier left the game with a 1-0 lead in the sixth with two runners on base, but the UCF bullpen could not hold the lead as Meier was tagged with the loss.
? Meier yielded just two runs on three hits in 5.1 innings vs. ECU. He fanned three Pirates and walked two.
Make Way for Mitch
? Mitch Houck has turned a string of impressive starts into a spot in UCF's weekend rotation.
? Houck was outstanding in his first weekend start April 15 at No. 23 Tulane. The left-hander earned the win as he allowed just two runs on four hits in 7.2 innings of work.
? Houck struck out nine Green Wave batters en route to UCF's only win of the series.
? The freshman has enjoyed his time as a starter in 2006. In six starts, Houck is 3-1 with a 1.98 ERA in 41 innings. He has 45 strikeouts and opponents are batting .179 against him.
? Out of the bullpen, Houck has a 12.00 ERA in three appearances in 2006. In 3.0 innings, Houck yielded eight hits as a reliever with just three strikeouts.
April's Top Stars
? Ryan Bono leads UCF with a .410 batting average in 10 games during the month of April.
? Senior 1B/DH Dave Lambert is hitting .346 with two home runs and four RBI in April.
? UCF is 4-6 in the month of April. The Golden Knights are batting .275 as a team and sport a 3.93 ERA during the month.
? Tim Bascom is 1-1 with a 0.60 ERA in two starts in April. In 15 innings, Bascom has 15 strikeouts and opponents are batting .170 against him.
? Mitch Houck is 2-0 with a 1.08 ERA in April. In 16.2 innings, Houck has 17 strikeouts and has held the opposition to a .160 batting average.
Welcome Back Chadd
? After missing 24 games with a broken bone in his hand, freshman outfielder Chadd Hartman has played well in his return. In seven starts since his return on April 7, Hartman is batting .320 (8-for-25).
? Hartman is third among UCF's regulars in batting average during the month of April. He has scored three runs and collected four RBI in seven games since his return from the injured list.
Playing Under the Lights
? UCF is 12-7 in night games in 2006 and 9-11 during day contests. ? At night, Tyson Auer leads the team with a .451 batting average. He has four triples, two doubles and 19 RBI under the lights.
? As a team, UCF hits .315 at night, compared to .266 in the day.
? UCF has three regulars who bat over .333 at night. Along with Auer's .451 average, Matt Horwath is second with a .375 average and Steve Stropp is batting .333 under the lights.
Big Game Eric
? Freshman shortstop Eric Kallstrom is fourth on the team with 20 RBI. He has three multi-RBI games in 2006, including six RBI in a win over Siena and five RBI in a victory at No. 23 Tulane.
? Kallstrom has collected 13 of his 20 RBI in three games this season.
? He recorded his first multi-home run game of his career with two homers in a 9-2 win at No. 23 Tulane on April 15. Kallstrom was the first Golden Knight in 2006 to hit two home runs in a game.
Power Surge for Horwath
? Junior IF Matt Horwath is a streaky hitter when it comes to hitting home runs. As a sophomore in 2005, Horwath hit eight home runs, including a homer in three straight games during the regular season.
? Horwath hit a dinger in the final two games of the Tulane series (April 14-16) for his first two home runs of the season.
Wear It!
? Ryan Bono became UCF's all-time leader after he was hit by a pitch for the 47th time in his career at Tulane on April 15. Bono moved past current assistant coach Rich Wallace (2000-03) for the top spot in the UCF annals.
? Bono is tied for fourth in UCF history with 49 doubles.
? The Lake Mary native has appeared in 208 career games, 10th all-time in UCF history.
? Bono is also closing in on the top-10 career lists for at-bats, RBI and hits at UCF. He needs just five at-bats, four RBI and 13 hits to move into a tie for 10th place at UCF in the respective categories.