Feb. 24, 2007
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Game Notes for Sunday, Feb. 25
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Baton Rouge, La. (www.ucfathletics.com) - A steady diet of runs throughout Saturday's game helped LSU prevail over the UCF baseball team in Baton Rouge, La., 13-6. Sophomore Eric Kallstrom, a product of South West Ranches, Fla., recorded a home run in his second-straight game, blasting his sixth-career dinger in the third inning.
The UCF offense did pound out 12 hits in the loss, the second-most for the 2007 season. Kallstrom, along with Tyson Auer and Kyle Maulbetsch, each completed the afternoon with two hits apiece.
UCF did not want to fall behind for the fifth-straight time, and made sure to take the lead in the top of the first. Following a one-out double off the bat of Auer, the center fielder stole third without a throw and scored on a groundout to first base by Kiko Vazquez. The 1-0 advantage held up for just a couple of minutes, as the Tigers began the bottom of the first with a walk and a one-out double from Blake Dean tied it at one. Dean eventually scored on a single by J.T. Wise, and LSU tacked on an unearned run to finish the inning up 3-1.
LSU stretched it to 4-1 in the second with a walk, hit by pitch and a single, all with two outs. That forced starter Mitch Herold (0-2) to the dugout, and Derek Abriola came in to record the final out of the frame. Kallstrom then led off the third with a solo blast that just cleared the fence in left field to help UCF inch a run closer.
After UCF could not take advantage of two singles in its version of the fourth, LSU did not waste any time in making it 7-2 when it strode to the plate. With two men on and nobody out, Jared Mitchell ripped the first pitch he saw from Abriola for a three-run homer. The next inning, Steven Waguespack delivered a two-run shot to deep right center off Eric English, and LSU tallied an unearned run in the sixth to push the lead to 10-2.
With a Michael Hollander RBI double in the seventh and a two-run pinch-hit homer by Jordan Mayer in the eighth, the Tigers ultimately sealed the victory. UCF did give the home team trouble in the ninth, though, loading the bases with one out. Dwayne Bailey touched home on a wild pitch and Steve Stropp placed a two-run single through the left side, plating Auer and Tim Russell. A few batters later, Kallstrom added a two-out, two-strike RBI base hit into left, making the final score 13-6.
UCF concludes its first road trip of the season Sunday against LSU with first pitch slated for 1 p.m. ET. 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: Clay Dirks (1-0), 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K
LP: Mitch Herold (0-2), 1.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
- There was a steady wind blowing out to left center the entire game. Wind gusts reached close to 40 mph during the afternoon in Baton Rouge.
- Eric Kallstrom's home run marked the second time this season that a Golden Knight homered in back-to-back games (Kiko Vazquez - Feb. 17-18).
- Reliever Eric English struck out six batters in 3.0 innings of work, including sitting down four straight on strikes at one point of the game.
- This season, the Knights are now a combined 0-7 in games played on Fridays and Saturday.