March 16, 2008
Monday's Preview vs. Wagner in PDF Format
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The No. 20 UCF baseball team swept its four-straight series when it defeated Siena, 12-1, Sunday at Jay Bergman Field. Junior lefty Mitch Herold (2-0) scattered six hits in 7.0 scoreless innings, striking out eight to help the Knights win their eighth-consecutive outing, as well as move their record to 16-1 on the season.
"I've got a lot more confidence this year, and being able to throw strikes helps a lot with that," said Herold, a native of Merritt Island, Fla. "Knowing our offense can go out there and score a lot of runs and our defense playing hard behind me gives me a lot of confidence too."
Herold did not give up an earned run for the second-straight appearance, and his 7.0 innings matched a personal-high. Extending his hitting streak to eight games, senior Dwayne Bailey went 3-for-4 with three RBI in the win over Siena (1-12). Sophomore Shane Brown continued to produce as well, collecting three hits, two doubles and three RBI. Overall, the Knights had seven doubles against Saints' pitchers.
UCF used five hits in the bottom of the first off Siena starter Craig Marcellus to take a quick 3-0 lead. A one-out bunt single by Bailey got it going and he was immediately brought home by a triple from classmate Tyson Auer. Junior Colin Arnold then did his job by sending a grounder to the right side to enable Auer to score. Now with two outs and no one aboard, sophomore Shane Brown doubled to right center and sophomore Chris Duffy ripped the first pitch he saw to center as Brown crossed home.
Back-to-back two-out doubles by Arnold and Brown made it 4-0 in the third, and juniors Eric Kallstrom, Robert Lara and Josh Siebenaler led off the fourth with consecutive hits for a 5-0 lead when the fourth opened up. Bailey followed with a long RBI single to left, Arnold drove in Siebenaler on a ground out and Brown completed the frame with a single down the left-field line for an 8-0 cushion. Siebenaler added a two-out RBI double in the fifth and Bailey permitted two more to score on a double that hit the third-base bag and went into left field.
The Knights padded to its advantage by scoring one more in the eighth with a sacrifice fly from Brown, scoring junior Chadd Hartman who led off the stanza with a double.
Herold soaked up the huge lead, and breezed through his 7.0 innings. Sophomore Carmine Giardina hurled the final two innings, giving up just one unearned run in the ninth, to lock up the win.
Another three-game series is right around the corner for UCF when the Knights host Wagner Monday-Wednesday at Jay Bergman Field. First pitch for all three games is scheduled for 6:30 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
Siena - 1-12 Overall, 0-0 MAAC
No. 20 UCF - 16-1 Overall, 0-0 Conference USA
WP: Mitch Herold (2-0), 7.0 IP, 8 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
LP: Craig Marcellus (0-4), 3.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
- The last time UCF swept four series in a row was in 2001.
- Senior Tyson Auer now has at least two triples in all four seasons with the Knights. His personal-high was six recorded during the 2006 campaign.
- Right fielder Ryan Richardson sat out his first game of the year.
- UCF has scored double-digit run totals nine times.
- The Knights matched their season-high hit total with 17 against Siena Sunday.
- Mitch Herold's career-high for strikeouts in a game is nine at Stetson May 8, 2007.
- UCF has now recorded two separate eight-game winning streaks for the first time since 2001.
- Josh Siebenaler, Colin Arnold and Chris Duffy each notched two hits.