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Maryland Knocks Off UCF Baseball, 16-4

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Feb. 16, 2007

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Orlando, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - On a chilly night at Jay Bergman Field, Maryland roughed up the UCF baseball team Friday in a 16-4 victory. The Golden Knights (2-4) committed five errors in the field, while the Terrapins (3-1) pounded out 17 hits to cruise to the win.

UCF starter Mitch Houck (0-1) lasted 3.0 innings, striking out four and surrendering two earned runs. Casey Baron (1-0) picked up the victory for Maryland, going 6.0 innings and giving up three earned runs.

Maryland went ahead right away, plating one in the first on an RBI single by Chad Durakis. Houck almost got out of the inning after a wild pitch let AJ Casario go from first to third with one out. Houck struck out Dan Melvin and got ahead in the count 0-2 to Durakis before the Terrapins' catcher fisted a single to center.

Houck again got into trouble in the second, putting runners at the corners with one away. This time he managed to survive the frame when he picked off Steve Braun from first and forced Joe Palumbo to swing at a ball in the dirt for strike three. Still up 1-0, Maryland did stretch its lead to four in the third, all after Houck retired the first two batters. Two of those runs were unearned. After Derek Abriola replaced Houck to begin the fourth, Palumbo greeted him with a solo homer to right. Maryland brought it to 8-0 with three more unearned runs.

While the Terrapins were successful at the plate, UCF kept putting runners aboard itself, including having a runner at third in the first three innings. Baron, though, shut the Golden Knights down every time.

Dan Benick provided Maryland with a 9-0 lead, ripping a double down the left-field line in the sixth. Needing to make a big comeback, UCF finally got to Baron in its half. Kiko Vazquez got it going on a single to center, and Brown delivered with his first collegiate hit, a double into right center. Both came around to score when pinch-hitter Bryan Bennett singled into center. Following a ground out and a Tyson Auer base hit, Kyle Mills brought in Bennett on a sac fly to right. To complete the scoring in the sixth, Melvin took a grounder from Dwayne Bailey at short but threw it wild to first, allowing Auer to touch home to make it 9-4.

The momentum did not last in the seventh, as the Terrapins touched reliever Kyle Sweat for three more runs. Maryland kept its offense rolling in the next stanza against Matt Goodyear, spotting the righty for four runs, three unearned, to finish off the win, 16-4.

The three-game series continues Saturday with a 4 p.m. first pitch at Jay Bergman Field. For the latest news and information on the Golden Knights, tickets or apparel log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF athletics.

Game Notes
WP: Casey Baron (1-0), 6.0 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
LP: Mitch Houck (0-1), 3.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
- Friday was the first meeting between UCF and Maryland.
- Freshman Kyle Mills made his first appearance of the season, coming off the bench to play second in the top of the fifth inning.
- Freshman Matt Goodyear struck out the side in the ninth, and finished with four Ks. It was his first time on the mound in a collegiate uniform.
- Dwayne Bailey, Shane Brown and Tyson Auer paced the UCF offense with two hits apiece.
- At 3:31, Friday's contest was the fifth-straight game for UCF that went over the three-hour mark.