May 11, 2006
UCF-Memphis Game Notes in PDF Format
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ORLANDO - UCF closes out its 2006 home schedule this weekend with a three-game Conference USA series vs. Memphis. The series begins Friday at 6:30 p.m.
? The Golden Knights (23-27, 5-13 C-USA) have lost eight straight conference games and are tied for last in the league standings. Despite its 5-13 C-USA record, the Golden Knights are just two games out of fifth place in the league.
? The Golden Knights enter the weekend eighth in the league in batting (.274) and third in ERA (3.90).
? The top eight teams in the C-USA standings qualify for the 2006 C-USA Baseball Tournament. The conference tournament will be held on the campus of Rice University at Reckling Park, May 24-28 in Houston.
? Over its last two C-USA series, the Golden Knights have played No. 1 Rice and at No. 10 Houston. It marked the first time in school history UCF has played consecutive weekend series vs. ranked opponents.
? The final two games of the Memphis series will air live on the UCF ISP Sports Network (740-AM The Team). Steve Egan will handle the play-by-play duties for both games.
Senior Day Scheduled for Sunday
? UCF will say goodbye to its four seniors Sunday on Senior Day at Jay Bergman Field. Ryan Bono, Dave Lambert, Dominic Petracca and Taylor Cobb will take the field at home for the final time in their careers.
? Three of the four players have spent four or more seasons in the Black and Gold. Bono and Lambert are both four-year players for the Golden Knights while Cobb is a fifth-year senior.
? Bono is putting the finishing touches on a strong four-year career. The Lake Mary native should finish his career ranked in the school's top 10 rankings for hits, at-bats, games played, doubles and RBI.
? Bono is a career .299 batter with 51 doubles, 11 home runs and 131 RBI.
? Lambert heads into his final series at home with a career .295 average in 157 games played.
? Cobb is out of the season with a shoulder injury. He posted a career record of 8-6 with a 4.94 ERA in 109.1 innings of work. Cobb totaled 74 strikeouts over his career and one save.
? Petracca is in his second season with UCF after transferring from Daytona Beach CC. For his career, the crafty right-hander is 4-5 with a 2.31 ERA in 78 innings with 82 strikeouts and 12 saves.
Inside the Series
? UCF and Memphis will meet for the first time in series history Friday.
? The Golden Knights have one player on their roster from the state of Tennessee. Junior IF Matt Ray is a native of Riceville.
? UCF's coaching staff has one connection to the Memphis program. UCF volunteer assistant coach Rich Wallace's father, Jeff, was on the 1979 Memphis baseball team and tied for the team lead in wins with five.
The Book on Memphis
? Memphis enters the weekend series with a 24-25 overall record, including a 7-11 mark in C-USA. The Tigers have lost four straight games, including a pair of mid-week losses to Middle Tennessee.
? Memphis has one of the league's most potent offenses, averaging just over seven runs per game. The Tigers are batting .305 as a team, fourth in C-USA.
? Junior Adam Amar, a native of Lake Mary and former Lake Highland prep standout, leads Memphis with a .400 batting average. He has six home runs and a team-high 48 RBI.
? On the mound, Memphis ranks eighth in C-USA in pitching with a 5.90 ERA. The Tigers have just 315 strikeouts in 440 innings pitched.
Starting on the Mound for UCF
? Junior All-America candidate Tim Bascom will not start this weekend due to a knee contusion. Bascom, who injured his knee prior to the Houston series, is not expected to pitch this weekend.
? Freshman All-America candidate Mitch Houck will start the series opener on the mound Friday night for the Golden Knights. Houck has pitched extremely well down the stretch for the Golden Knights, limiting No. 1 Rice and No. 10 Houston to just one run in 11.1 innings of work in his last two starts.
? Houck is 3-2 with a 2.91 ERA in 58.2 innings of work this season. He is second the staff in ERA, strikeouts (64) and third in innings pitched (58.2).
? Redshirt sophomore right-hander Brett Bordwine is the scheduled game two starter for UCF. Bordwine is 2-2 with a 4.68 ERA in 32.2 innings.
? Bordwine has the best ERA of any Golden Knight starter in conference action with a 2.18 ERA in six appearances, including two starts. He is 1-1 with 18 strikeouts in 20.2 innings of conference play.
? Freshman RHP Kyle Sweat gets the starting nod in the series finale Sunday for the Golden Knights. Sweat will make his first start in C-USA play since April 2 at Marshall. The Marshall series was the only C-USA series the Golden Knights have won in 2006.
? Sweat is 3-3 with a 3.95 ERA in 66 innings this season. He ranks second on the club in innings pitched and is tied for second in wins with three.
Playing at the "Berg"
? UCF is batting .271 as a team at Jay Bergman Field in 2006.
? Dave Lambert leads the team with a .326 batting average at home. Ryan Williams is second on the squad with a .313 average at home while sophomore OF Tyson Auer is batting .311 at the "Berg".
? UCF's pitching staff owns a team ERA of 3.66 in home games. Opponents are batting .236 at Jay Bergman Field.
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 fourth in UCF history with 51 doubles.
? The Lake Mary native has appeared in 219 career games, ninth all-time in UCF history.
? Bono is eighth in career history in at-bats (702) and needs just four hits, five walks and two RBI to move into a tie for 10th place in school history in those respective categories.