March 2, 2007
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Game Notes for Saturday, March 3
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Orlando, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Even though it was carrying momentum from victories over LSU and Michigan, the UCF baseball team could not solve Monmouth Friday in a 7-4 loss at Jay Bergman Field. The Golden Knights fell to 5-8 on the season, while it was the Hawks' first game of their 2007 campaign.
Mitch Houck (0-3) picked up the loss, tossing 5.1 innings and giving up five runs on seven hits. Eric Kallstrom saw his five-game hitting streak come to an end, finishing the day at 0-for-4. For Monmouth, Kyle Higgins notched four hits, while Mike Casale recorded four RBI.
Playing with a lot of energy, Monmouth jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second on a one-out RBI single off the bat of Casale. Houck then faced runners at the corners, but escaped the jam on a double play.
UCF did not have any problems getting runners on base in the first two innings, loading them up in both frames only to be held scoreless by Monmouth starter Matt Coulson. In the first, Shane Brown hit into an inning-ending double play, while left fielder Brett Holland robbed Chadd Hartman of a base hit thanks to a diving catch to keep the Knights off the board. The Knights also left a runner stranded at second in the third inning.
Coulson was driven from the game in the bottom of the fifth when he let UCF load the bases with two away, including giving up two walks. That was when the Hawks gift-wrapped four runs to let the Knights take a 4-1 lead. Facing reliever Justin Esposito, Ryan Richardson sent a ground ball to Higgins at short. After he bobbled it, Higgins then threw off target and to the fence behind first base, ultimately letting two runs score. On the very next play and with runners at the corners, Kallstrom went right back to Higgins. Trying to get the force at second, his throw forced second baseman Chris Collazo off the base, allowing Brown to touch home. Chris Duffy completed the scoring on an infield single, plating Richardson.
Monmouth struck back in the sixth. With the bags juiced and one down, Matt McClung came on and gave up an infield single to Justin Braun and a two-run double to Casale. John Dennis pushed the lead to 6-4 on a grounder to third, which was hit soft enough to drive in Braun. The Hawks tacked on one in the eighth, and Brett Brach pitched 4.0 innings of shutout ball to seal the victory.
The three-game series continues Saturday at 1 p.m., and it will mark Jay Bergman's 1,500th game as skipper of the Golden Knights. 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: Brett Brach (1-0), 4.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
LP: Mitch Houck (0-3), 5.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
- UCF moved to 0-5 this year in weekend-series openers.
- Monmouth's four errors were the most by a UCF opponent in 2007.
- Chadd Hartman, Chris Duffy and Dwayne Bailey each had two hits to lead the UCF offense.
- Duffy posted the Knights' lone RBI on the day.
- Brett Bordwine posted a solid ninth inning of relief, striking out two.