May 2, 2006
ORLANDO - UCF freshman right-handed pitcher Kyle Sweat held Bethune-Cookman scoreless over 7.1 innings to help guide the Golden Knights to a 2-0 shutout victory over the Wildcats Tuesday evening at Jay Bergman Field. Sweat limited B-CC (24-23) to just four hits as he equaled a career-high with 7.1 innings pitched.
"We had great pitching tonight," said UCF head coach Jay Bergman. "That is four games in a row we have pitched well. We needed a win tonight - whether if it was 12-11 or 2-0. The kids went out and got it done."
The win snapped UCF's five-game losing streak as Sweat finished with three strikeouts. The Apopka native retired eight of the last nine batters he faced.
Junior left-hander Brian Brooks recorded his first save of the season with 1.2 innings of shutout relief.
With the bases loaded in the fourth, UCF (23-24) scored first with a RBI-single by freshman right fielder Chadd Hartman to give the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead. UCF had a chance for a big inning with the bases loaded and no outs, but a groundout and double play ended the threat.
UCF added to its lead in the eighth when junior second baseman Matt Ray scored on a throwing error by Bethune-Cookman shortstop Chris Henault to give the Golden Knights a 2-0 lead. Ray started the eighth with a single and later advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt before scoring on the error.
The Golden Knights return to action this weekend at No. 10 Houston. The critical three-game Conference USA series begins Friday at 8 p.m. ET from Cougar Field.
Game Notes: The shutout was UCF's fifth of the season ... UCF moved to 62-14 all-time vs. Bethune-Cookman ... the game lasted just two hours and 15 minutes ... UCF's pitching staff has yielded just 10 runs over its last four games.