March 26, 2007
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Orlando, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - It was a battle of local stars when the UCF baseball team went up against Harvard Monday, and the Knights were able to conclude their 17-game home stand, as well as the first half of the season, with a 7-3 victory. Apopka High's Kyle Sweat recorded the longest outing by a starter this year, while Boone High's Chris Duffy notched a three-run double and also made some stellar defensive plays.
Sweat (2-2), making his first start since Feb. 9, set career-highs with 8.0 innings of work and six strikeouts for the Knights (15-13). The sophomore allowed just two runs on six hits. Sweat was facing off against Lake Brantley High product Max Perlman (1-1), who was virtually untouchable for the Crimson (3-6) until the fifth inning.
"I was just out there having fun," said Sweat. "I struggled in the first couple of outings, but now I'm just trying to help this team win. It's all about getting ahead, throwing strikes and keeping hitters off-balance. That's pretty much what I was trying to do with my change-up and curveball."
Duffy was just as important to the Knights' success Monday. The freshman went 1-for-3 with two runs scored, but his key hit came in the sixth when he cleared the bases with a three-run double. Duffy also racked up nine assists from third base, two shy of UCF's all-time record. He also assisted on all three outs in the fifth inning, including bare-handing a bunt dropped down by leadoff man Jeff Stoeckel and firing a strike to Kiko Vazquez at first for the second out of the frame.
Not to be outdone, Windermere's Chadd Hartman finished his night with a 3-for-4 performance and two runs scored. The sophomore's three hits was a personal best, as he previously has two hits in a game 11 times.
Even though it played a game earlier Monday in St. Petersburg (a 5-1 win over Eckerd College), Harvard still had some energy against UCF. After getting two runners in scoring position with one down in the second, the Crimson took a 1-0 lead on a wild pitch. However, they were unable to plate any more in the frame, while also failing to score when they placed two aboard with one down in the third.
Meanwhile, UCF could not get anything going off Perlman. The freshman surrendered a one-out single in the first, then got a double-play ball en route to picking up 12-straight outs. Duffy ended that string with a one-out walk in the fifth. As Duffy got aboard, so did Ryan Richardson, who followed up by ripping a single to right field. The runners were pushed over on a ground out, which brought up Eric Kallstrom. The shortstop did have his seven-game hitting streak come to an end the day before, but he wanted to start a new one. On a 1-2 pitch, Kallstrom dropped a two-run single into right to give the Knights a 2-1 advantage.
Harvard came right back in the sixth, and got a little lucky with two down. Having runners at first and second, Matt Kramer sent a two-hopper that found its way past Duffy's glove at third and Kallstrom's glove at short and into left field for the RBI single. Now tied up at 2-2, the Crimson tried a double steal only to see Steve Stropp make a perfect throw to Duffy to get Matt Rogers at third base.
UCF turned it on in its half of the sixth, earning a leadoff single by Tyson Auer. Hartman delivered a base hit through the left side, and with Auer running on the play, the center fielder took third. As Rogers tried to throw out Auer, Hartman traveled to second base to get into scoring position. After a fly out into right, Kiko Vazquez was intentionally walked to fill the bases for Duffy. The freshman fanned on a change-up before fouling one back to the screen. Down in the count 0-2, Duffy somehow found a fastball he liked, sending it the opposite way just inside the third-base line for a bases-clearing double.
Owning a 5-2 cushion, pinch-hitter Tim Russell kept the sixth alive, blasting a two-out base hit into left and providing runners at the corners. Harvard dug into its bullpen in favor of Dan Zailskas, and when he came set to make his first pitch, pinch-runner Nick Choto tried to catch the defense off guard by trying to steal second. Zailskas stepped off and fired to second baseman Brendan Byrne, but he dropped it to permit Duffy to score from third, boosting the lead 6-2.
Hartman and Shane Brown teamed up in the seventh with two down to make it 7-2, as Hartman recorded his first triple of the year and Brown singled through the left side to bring his teammate around. Harvard was able to add a run in the ninth against reliever Kyle Maulbetsch, but that was all it could muster as the Knights held on for the victory.
The Black and Gold now open a five-game road trip with a quick journey to Stetson Tuesday at 7 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: Kyle Sweat (2-2), 8.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
LP: Max Perlman (1-1), 5.2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
- A total of 1,177 fans entered Jay Bergman Field's gates Monday, the 14th largest attendance in the stadium's history.
- Monday marked the third-straight day that UCF faced off against a freshman starting pitcher.
- The Knights moved their record to a perfect 5-0 this year against teams from Massachusetts.
- Harvard served as the last non-conference team from outside of the state of Florida that UCF will face this season.
- Harvard left eight on base compared to UCF's four. Meanwhile, the Knights out-hit the Crimson, 11-8.
- Tim Russell's pinch-hit single was his first base hit after coming off the bench this year.
- Kiko Vazquez collected 16 putouts at first base.
- The victory tied the all-time series with Harvard at 1-1. Before Monday, the two teams only met each other in 1973, which was UCF's first year of baseball.