March 22, 2008
Sunday's Preview in PDF Format
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (www.ucfathletics.com) - No. 16 UCF recorded its most runs in a conference game since March 31, 2006, notching a 15-4 victory at Southern Miss Saturday at Pete Taylor Park. The win gave the Knights (20-2, 1-1 Conference USA) their 20th triumph of the season, while the Golden Eagles (13-7, 1-1) witnessed their seven-game winning streak come to a close.
"I think the guys were determined to bounce back after yesterday and they did," said head coach Jay Bergman. "Kyle pitched five good innings until he got a blister on his finger. Today we put the ball in play and set runners in motion, and we were able to take the crowd out of the game. I think Southern Miss and East Carolina are two of the hardest places to play as far as crowds are concerned."
In a dominant performance on the mound, junior Kyle Sweat surrendered just four hits and struck out four to improve his record to 3-0 on the year. He went out to pitch the sixth but returned to the dugout following a meeting with the trainer. From the pen, freshman Brennan Dobbins worked the final 3.1 innings to secure his first collegiate save.
The offense took advantage of numerous hit-and-run opportunities in the middle innings, as UCF scored four times in the fourth and seven times in the fifth on the way to the win. Senior Tyson Auer swiped his 70th career base in the first inning to move into a tie for fifth with Tim Boeth on the UCF all-time list. Meanwhile, junior Eric Kallstrom extended his hitting streak to a career-long 12 games with two hits on the day, and senior Tim Russell set a personal-high with three RBI in a 2-for-3 affair.
After the first two innings breezed by, Southern Miss secured the first major scoring opportunity in the third. The Golden Eagles placed runners at second and third with just one down, but Sweat induced Trey Sutton to ground into a 5-2 fielder's choice with Bo Davis being thrown at home. Although the right-hander walked the next batter to load them up, Sweat sat down Corey Stevens on strikes to keep the game scoreless.
The Knights had a threat working as well when they strode to the plate in the fourth, filling the bags with one down against righty David Clark. Senior Ryan Richardson did his job by sending the first pitch to right field for his fourth sac fly of the year, bringing in Auer. Russell followed suit with a RBI single through the right side to drive in junior Colin Arnold, and Kallstrom closed the scoring by lacing a 1-0 pitch into the gap in right-center for a two-run double, making it 4-0.
UCF's bats were back at it in the fifth, forcing USM to go to its bullpen twice before the Golden Eagles recorded the first out in the inning. The Knights' first eight hitters got aboard beginning with a free pass issued to senior Dwayne Bailey, then six-consecutive singles and an error, enabling the Black and Gold to bat around. When the dust settled, Auer, Arnold, sophomore Shane Brown, Russell, junior Robert Lara and junior Josh Siebenaler all picked up at least one RBI in the frame for an 11-0 cushion.
A Richardson RBI groundout in the sixth gave UCF its 12th run, but Southern Miss got on the scoreboard in the bottom half, posting three runs on five walks and three wild pitches. Although USM was trying to stage a comeback, Auer put an to end to the Golden Eagle momentum, ripped a two-out, two-run single to right in the seventh. Lara capped off the afternoon with a sac fly in the eighth.
The two clubs return to the field for the rubber match Sunday with the series finale set for 2 p.m. ET.
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
No. 16 UCF - 20-2 Overall, 1-1 Conference USA
Southern Miss - 13-7 Overall, 1-1 Conference USA
WP: Kyle Sweat (3-0), 5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
LP: David Clark (2-2), 4.0 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 4 BB, 5 K
SV: Brennan Dobbins (1), 3.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
- Saturday was the first time UCF won in Hattiesburg since a 14-1 triumph in 1988, which was the first time the two programs met on the diamond.
- The Knights' 15 runs were the most they scored in a league game since their first C-USA contest in program history, an 18-1 win at Marshall March 31, 2006.
- UCF has now scored at least 15 runs in a game five times in 2008.
- It took just 22 games before the Knights claimed their 20th win of the season. Last year, UCF needed 43 games to reach the 20-win plateau while it took 33 outings in 2006.
- The seven runs in the fifth were the second most in an inning by UCF this year (eight in the third vs. Siena in game one on March 15).
- Shane Brown was hit by a pitch for the 10th time this season, just two shy of breaking into the top 10 on the UCF single-season list.
- Ryan Richardson kept his hitting streak alive at nine games.
- UCF stole at least two bases for the 13th time this year, and recorded three more sacrifice flies to bring its season total to 20 (by comparison, Knight opponents have just five sac flies).
- Tyson Auer went 3-for-4 with three RBI and three runs scored.