Feb. 22, 2008
Game Notes for 2/23 in PDF Format
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - A festive crowd of 1,282 ventured to Opening Day at Jay Bergman Field Friday and had a lot to cheer about as UCF routed Florida A&M, 17-1. The Knights' 17 runs tied a school record for most in a season-opener, as they also accomplished the feat vs. Rollins in 1998.
Senior Jaager Good (1-0) got the start for the Black and Gold and gave up just two hits and struck out eight in 5.2 innings of work, including striking out the side in the first. At the dish, senior Dwayne Bailey came one hit shy of matching the school mark for hits in a game, as he went 5-for-5 with four runs scored. Meanwhile, senior Tyson Auer tied his career high by scoring four runs as well.
"As long as you win by one run, it's a W," said head coach Jay Bergman, who enters his 26th season with UCF. "I thought we played very well tonight, particularly defensively, and Jaager was in control of his game. The team played with a lot of enthusiasm and what we call synergy."
A new season brought new faces to the UCF lineup, and junior transfer Josh Siebenaler made a big first impression to leadoff the first inning, sending the second pitch he saw from Cirilo Manego (0-1) to right field for his first Division I base hit. One pitch later, Bailey blooped a single into center. Auer quickly cleared the bases by ripping a 1-2 offering to the gap in left center. After Manego picked up the first out, Auer reached third on a passed ball and Colin Arnold, another junior transfer, roped a double deep to left to make it 3-0.
The scoring continued in the second when the Knights loaded the bases with two down. Sophomore Chris Duffy collected an RBI when he was hit on the foot, Arnold notched an RBI infield single and senior Ryan Richardson was walked to bring the score to 6-0. UCF eventually batted around when sophomore Shane Brown put on 0-1 pitch to right field, plating two more runs.
The third newcomer in the Knights' starting lineup, junior Rob Lara, got into the act in the third, leading off with a triple and came around to score on a single from Bailey. Artis Patton came on in relief and surrendered two more runs with bases-loaded walks to Richardson and Brown, while Jesse Cardenas followed Patton and hit junior Brandon Romans on the first pitch, bringing it to 12-0. Three unearned runs in the fourth stretched the lead to 15-0.
FAMU got on the scoreboard with a run in the seventh, only to see UCF reply with two runs in the eighth for the final 17-1 margin.
UCF and Florida A&M rumble again Saturday at 1 p.m. at Jay Bergman Field, while they conclude the series Sunday at 1 p.m.
Season tickets as well as single-game tickets to check out UCF baseball this year are currently available by contacting the UCF Ticket Office at 407-823-1000, or by going online at www.ucfathletics.com, the official site for UCF varsity sports. Also check out UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
Game Notes
Florida A&M - 0-1 Overall, 0-0 MEAC
UCF - 1-0 Overall, 0-0 Conference USA
WP: Jaager Good (1-0), 5.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K
LP: Cirilo Manego (0-1), 2.1 IP, 12 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
- Friday's season-opener was the latest starting date to a UCF season since 1976.
- The crowd of 1,282 was the 12th largest crowd in Jay Bergman Field's eight-year history, and the biggest for a home opener since 2004 when UCF hosted No. 2 LSU.
- The 17 runs in a game were the most by UCF since March 31, 2006, when it defeated Marshall, 18-1.
- UCF only used two pitchers out of the pen, as freshman Brennan Dobbins pitched 2.1 innings, giving up one run and striking out two, and sophomore Matt Goodyear pitched a perfect ninth to close the door.
- Josh Siebenaler, Tyson Auer, Tim Russell and Colin Arnold each recorded two hits in the win. Siebenaler finished with three runs scored and Arnold drove in three. Shane Brown also added three RBI, which tied a career-high.
- Colin Arnold moved from left to right field to begin the eighth inning, and immediate made a highlight-reel catch, chasing down a Chris Fullman fly ball to make a leaping grab against the fence for the second out.