May 2, 2007
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Orlando, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - In the final non-conference home game of 2007, No. 28 Stetson claimed a 10-7 decision over UCF Wednesday at Jay Bergman Field, ending the Knights' four-game winning streak. UCF will now take a 22-24 overall record into the Conference USA weekend at Memphis Friday-Sunday.
Kyle Maulbetsch earned the start and lasted 3.2 innings without earning a decision vs. the Hatters (33-12). The UCF bullpen suffered its first loss of the year, as Derek Abriola (0-2) was tagged with the defeat. Offensively, the reigning Pro-Line Athletic National Hitter of the Week Matt Horwath continued to dominate opposing pitching. The designated hitter went 3-for-5 with two doubles and two runs in the loss. Ryan Richardson, meanwhile, connected for three hits for the second-straight game. As a team, the Knights posted 14 hits.
Justin Bass led the Stetson batters, going 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. The Hatters finished with 14 hits as well.
Stetson quickly struck for a run in the top of the first on an Aaron Crittenden RBI single with the bases loaded and two outs. But UCF held them to just the 1-0 lead as Tyson Auer fielded the single in center and threw a strike to Steve Stropp behind the plate, who tagged out Bass to end the inning.
The Knights wasted little time in erasing the deficit in the bottom half, where the first four batters reached base. Horwath got things going by ripping a double to the fence in left. Dwayne Bailey tried to sacrifice him to third, but did one better by dropping one down for a single to put runners at the corners. After Bailey stole his 14th base of the year, Auer dropped a double just inside the line in right field to take a 2-1 advantage. A wild pitch pushed Auer to third and following a walk to Kiko Vazquez, Steve Stropp sent a sacrifice fly to left for UCF's third run.
Bass helped the Hatters even it up in the third, sending a two-run single into left center. Crittenden then notched another RBI single in the fifth, this time off the UCF bullpen, to retake the lead, 4-3. The Hatters tacked on three more, finishing the inning with four singles and two walks.
Down 7-3, the top of the UCF order strung together three perfect at-bats in the bottom of the fifth. Horwath sent his second double of the game to left center, Bailey bunted him over to third and Auer earned a sacrifice fly to right to score Horwath.
However, Stetson put the contest out of reach when Brian Pruitt drilled a three-run shot over the left-field fence in the eighth to bring the lead to 10-4. UCF attempted a comeback in the home half, where Vazquez led off with a double and pinch-hitter Tim Russell sent a single into center. Facing reliever Nick Pugliese, Richardson lined a RBI base hit through the left side to score Vazquez from third. When Robbie Elsemiller took the rubber, Chadd Hartman came through by blooping a one-out RBI single to center, helping the Knights inch closer, 10-6. Pinch-hitter Shane Brown then stepped up and delivered with a single up the middle to score Richardson.
That was all the Black and Gold could muster, though, as Elsemiller pitched the final 2.0 innings to help Stetson hold on for the victory.
The Black and Gold will now embark on its longest road trip of the season when UCF starts a seven-game trip this weekend at Memphis. First pitch for game one of the Conference series vs. the Tigers is set for Friday at 7:30 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: Justin Dechert (5-2), 6.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
LP: Derek Abriola (0-2), 0.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
- Kiko Vazquez extended his season-long hitting streak to eight games when he notched a double in the eighth.
- Freshman Kyle Maulbetsch picked off Shane Jordan from second base in the top of the first inning, which was Maulbetsch's first career pickoff as a collegiate pitcher.
- Eric Kallstrom made one of the top defensive plays of 2007 in the second inning. On an 0-2 pitch, Jeremy Cruz drove a potential single through the left side. But Kallstrom dove to his right, snagged the ball and in virtually one motion, rose to his feet and fired a rocket to first that just beat Cruz for out No. 1.
- The next stanza, Dwayne Bailey recorded another diving play by racing to his left from his second base position, reaching out, snaring a potential RBI base hit from Braedyn Pruitt and throwing out the third baseman.
- In the last five games, Matt Horwath is 14-for-21 (.667).
- Brett Bordwine pitched 2.0 scoreless innings out of the pen, striking out one and allowing just one hit. Mitch Herold recorded the final two outs of the eighth inning, Matt Goodyear made his third appearance of the season in the top of the ninth and Austin Hudson struck out the only batter he faced in the ninth, which forced Stetson to leave the bases loaded.
- UCF used a season-high eight pitchers vs. Stetson Wednesday.