May 17, 2007
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Game Notes for Friday, May 18
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Orlando, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - In the first of a three-game Conference USA series that will determine the final spot in the C-USA Championship, Chris Duffy's two-run homer in the seventh gave the UCF baseball team an 8-6 win over Marshall Thursday at Jay Bergman Field. The freshman from Orlando completed his night by going 3-for-4 with two doubles, his seventh homer of 2007, three RBI and two runs scored.
The win, which lasted 4:57 due to a 1:47 rain delay, enabled the Knights to move to 6-16 in C-USA play, and 25-29 for the season. They now own a 1.5 game lead over the Herd (20-31, 4-17) for eighth place with two games left in the regular-season. The top eight programs qualify for the C-USA Championship May 23-27 at East Carolina.
Not to be outdone by Duffy, a base hit in the fourth inning extended Kiko Vazquez's hitting streak to a UCF season-long 16 games. The first baseman went 3-for-4 as well with two doubles, three RBI and scored two runs. His second double was the most important, as it tied the game at 6-6 in the seventh inning. Also keeping his string alive, Ryan Richardson notched a hit for the 13th-consecutive game. As a team, the Knights recorded 10 hits, marking the 10th-straight game they amassed double-digits in the hit column.
Meanwhile, senior Brian Brooks (4-1) tied the UCF all-time record set by Jason Arnold by making his 79th relief appearance in a Knight uniform. Junior Jaager Good got the start and went 6.0 solid innings, surrendering just two runs on four hits, striking out two.
"We literally had to win that game," said head coach Jay Bergman. "Offensively, (Vazquez and Duffy) pretty much carried us all night long. And (Good) gave us a great night. You couldn't have scripted it any better."
Following the rain delay that halted play in the top of the first, a pair of doubles opened the scoring in the bottom of the second vs. Marshall starter Andrew Blain. Duffy went the opposite way with one down, hitting a two-bagger to the base of the left-field wall. Eric Kallstrom then came through with two outs, ripping a double to right-center, allowing Duffy to score.
UCF continued to light up the scoreboard in the fifth, even though the first two batters were retired. After Matt Horwath's third walk, Dwayne Bailey dropped a single into right to place runners at the corners. A wild pitch made it 2-0, while Tyson Auer was issued a free pass to keep the frame going. Auer and Bailey both advanced by stealing second and third, respectively, and Vazquez beat the Marshall shift that was playing him to pull, sending a two-run double down the right-field line. Duffy completed the inning thanks to his second double of the evening, enabling Vazquez to cross home for a 5-0 cushion.
A Tommy Johnson sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the sixth provided the Thundering Herd with their first tally. However, on that run-scoring play, Richardson fired it in from right to Kallstrom at short and relayed it over to Duffy who got Josh Valle trying to advance for the inning-ending double play. Good did issue a leadoff walk to begin the seventh, which would serve as his last batter. Marshall eventually loaded the bases off the UCF bullpen for the second-straight inning and came through with five runs, including tying it on a hit by pitch with two down and taking the lead on a walk.
Although momentum shifted to the Herd, UCF got it right back in the bottom half. Now trailing 6-5, Bailey singled to lead off the frame, and two batters latter, Vazquez decided to go to left field this time for another double. His shot went all of the way to the wall, making sure Bailey would easily score the tying run from first. Duffy then wasted little time to hand the Black and Gold the lead again, drilling a 1-1 offering from reliever Nick Wolle deep to left center for the go-ahead runs.
To cap off the thrilling victory, Justin Weiss locked down his eighth save, retiring all five Herd hitters he faced. On the UCF single-season chart, he jumped into a tie for second with five other players. It also was his eighth career save, which moved him into a tie for sixth on the program's all-time list (John Foran, 1994-95).
UCF will go for the important series win Friday with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. The finale takes place Saturday at 1 p.m. as the UCF seniors will be honored before the game. 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: Brian Brooks (4-1), 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
LP: Nick Wolle (1-5), 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
SV: Justin Weiss (8), 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
- Kiko Vazquez's 16-game hitting streak is the longest since Clay Timpner hit safely in 19-straight outings Feb. 13-March 17, 2004.
- Chris Duffy has homered in each of the last four Conference USA series. He has a dinger in three of his last five games, four in his last eight outings and six in his last 12.
- Dwayne Bailey went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and his 10th sacrifice hit out of the No. 2 hole. His 10 sac bunts rank tied for fifth on the UCF single-season list.
- Even though Matt Horwath's hitting streak ended at 11 games, he still walked three times and scored a run.
- Tyson Auer, who had a 15-game hitting streak earlier in the year, had a 10-game streak come to a close Thursday.
- Tyson Auer's stolen base was his 22nd of the season. Dwayne Bailey's swipe was his 17th of 2007.
- Jaager Good pitched to three batters before the rain came in the first inning. He still went out there when the game resumed to post his seventh start of the season in which in went at least 6.0 innings.
- Jason Arnold holds the UCF single-season record for saves with 12 in 1998.