March 18, 2007
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Orlando, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Junior Jaager Good became the fourth-different UCF pitcher to rack up at least 10 strikeouts in a game this year, as the Golden Knights blanked Rutgers Sunday, 4-0, to take two of the three-game series. It was the first shutout of the season for the Black and Gold, as it will head into conference play next weekend with a 14-10 record.
"Mitch Houck had a great performance last night and I felt that I needed to come out and do the same thing," said Good, who improved his record to 3-1. "Fortunately I did that, my change-up was working and I threw a lot of strikes. I thought back to the TCU series where they did the exact same thing that Rutgers did in the first two games (scoring in the first inning). My goal last night when I was thinking about it was putting up a zero in the first inning and continuing on for the rest of the game."
Good, who set a career-high by going 7.0 innings vs. Massachusetts March 11, posted his best outing Sunday vs. Rutgers (7-10). The righty from Atlanta, Ga., went 7.2 scoreless innings, striking out 10 while limiting the Scarlet Knights to only two hits and two walks. His 10 punch-outs, which including Good striking out the side on 13 pitches in the fifth, doubled his personal best of five recorded at LSU Feb. 25, 2007.
Meanwhile, Good retired the first nine batters of the game, and also had a string of seven-straight outs later in the victory. His outing of 7.2 innings marked the longest by a UCF starter through 24 games.
Rutgers' three-run first inning Saturday proved to be a huge difference maker in a 4-3 Scarlet Knight win, and UCF attempted to do the same in the series finale. A free pass issued to Shane Brown by starter Casey Gaynor put the first runner on, and Kiko Vazquez was hit by a pitch. Down 0-2 in the count, Chris Duffy softly placed a single into center that gave UCF the 1-0 lead. Gaynor escaped with just the one run by getting a double-play ball to end the frame.
As Good went through the order in the first three innings, Rutgers managed to get the tying run to third with one down in the fourth. But Todd Frazier was stranded when Good forced Ryan Hill to foul out and Tim Querns to fly out to left. UCF also could not capitalize in the sixth as Vazquez was left at second with one down following his seventh double of the year.
Rutgers had another chance to even it at 1-1, getting a leadoff single in the seventh by Hill. The left fielder would reach second on a sacrifice bunt and a ground ball pushed him to third with two outs. Good finished the inning by inducing pinch-hitter Victor Cegles to ground out to second baseman Dwayne Bailey.
Still clinging to a 1-0 advantage in the bottom of the seventh, Ryan Richardson knew an insurance run would be crucial, and he got aboard by ripping a one-out single to left. Eric Kallstrom followed by ripping the first pitch he saw down the line in right to put runners at the corners, and Bailey was able to foul off a few pitches before walking on a full count, loading them up for Tyson Auer. The center fielder came through on a 2-2 pitch, earning a sacrifice fly to right to allow Richardson to touch home. Now facing two outs, Brown extended the lead even further, blooping a single just in front of Hill in left to plate Kallstrom and Bailey.
Now up 4-0, Good got two outs before he issued a walk to Brett Garlick. With 113 pitches to his credit (70 strikes), pitching coach Craig Cozart went to closer Justin Weiss who needed just one pitch to get Frazier to line out to short. The Scarlet Knights were able to add two singles in the top of the ninth, but Weiss fanned Jon Gossard to complete the shutout.
UCF has four games left on its 17-game home stand, and it will resume next weekend when the Black and Gold steps into Conference USA play. The Golden Knights welcome Houston for a three-game set beginning Friday at 6:30 p.m. 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: Jaager Good (3-1), 7.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 10 K
LP: Casey Gaynor (1-1) 7.0 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
- Shane Brown, Chris Duffy and Ryan Richardson each had two hits on the day. Brown finished 2-for-3 with two RBI, a run scored and a walk in his first start in the No. 2 hole.
- Dwayne Bailey stole his 10th base of the year, which extended UCF's streak to 15-straight games that at least one player notched a stolen base.
- For the series, a total of 2,404 fans came out to Jay Bergman Field, marking the eighth-largest series in the seven-year history of the ballpark. This year alone, UCF has had four series rank in the top 10 in attendance.
- With the win, UCF won its second-straight three-game series.
- The Golden Knights finished the win by out-hitting the Scarlet Knights, 9-4.
- Jaager Good joined Carmine Giardina (10 vs. Michigan State, March 6), Brett Bordwine (14 vs. Northeastern, March 7) and Mitch Houck (10 vs. UMass, March 10) in posting double-digit strikeouts in 2007.