Nov. 8, 2007
Game 3 Box Score in PDF Format
UCF Black Team Overall Stats in PDF Format
UCF Gold Team Overall Stats in PDF Format
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - One first-inning run was all the black team needed Thursday as it defeated gold, 1-0, in the final game of the UCF Black & Gold World Series. The contest marked the conclusion of fall practice for the Knights.
Gold won game one Tuesday, 5-3, only to see black even the series Wednesday with a 4-1 victory. Both squads were managed by seniors, while the pitchers had a limit of 65 pitches. The coaching staff observed the games from the stands and the press box.
"I thought we were pretty consistent on the mound, and I was kind of proud of the way the teams managed their staffs this week because there were certain guidelines set forth to protect the arms," said associate head coach and pitching coach Craig Cozart. "They got quality innings out of guys when they had to and were able to get some quick outs in clutch situations. Overall, I was very pleased with the pitching, locating their strike zones and being competitive. It turned out to be a tremendous series.
"It's tough during an intrasquad because when the hitters do well, you look at the pitching and say `well, we didn't throw very well today.' But when the pitchers perform well and the hitters don't hit we are like `well, we didn't hit the ball very well.' So if you take it week by week this fall, week one was pretty even. In week two the hitting dominated pitching as we hit about eight or nine home runs. And then when we brought umpires out in week three, things kind of settled into a normal game where you are getting some strikeouts and clutch hits. Then you look at this three-game series, obviously we didn't hit the ball in spots that we needed to, but there were some great pitches and defensive plays being made. In the end, it was exactly what we hoped to get out of this series."
Jaager Good made the start for gold, surrendering a run on two hits in 3.2 innings of work. He also struck out two and walked three. Cory Weech then pitched 2.0 perfect innings of relief, Carmine Giardina struck out a pair in 2.1 innings and Evan Stobbs tossed a scoreless ninth.
Over on the black team, Brian Griggs pitched 5.0 scoreless innings in his starting role, allowing six hits, no walks and striking out three to notch the win. Caleb Graham came on to hurl 1.2 innings, setting down all five hitters he faced and Justin Weiss picked up the save by going the final 2.1 frames, posting one strikeout.
Taking on last year's Friday night starter, the black squad played a little small ball to register the game's first run in the top of the first. Josh Siebenaler led off with a walk, stole second, reached third on a bunt single from Dwayne Bailey and scored thanks to a ground out off the bat of Tyson Auer.
Gold had a great opportunity to respond in the fourth, earning a lead-off double from Eric Kallstrom. However, Griggs retired the next three batters to get out of the jam, including two strikeouts and a great play by third baseman Chris Duffy, who reached well over the fence in foul territory to record the second out.
The gold team managed to put only one more runner in scoring position until there were two outs in the bottom of the ninth, when Colin Arnold was hit by a pitch and stole second. But Weiss, who had nine saves in 2007, held on for the save to give the black squad the overall victory in the series.
With the fall season wrapped up, UCF will now look ahead to spring practice, as well as its first regular-season series against Florida A&M Feb. 22-24. The three-game set begins an eight-game homestand to open the year, as Missouri (Feb. 25), Central Michigan (Feb. 29-March 2) and Jacksonville (March 4) also will invade Jay Bergman Field during that stretch.
For the latest news and information on the Knights, tickets or apparel log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. Also check out UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
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