March 24, 2008
ORLANDO - Holding a 20-3 record and an impressive 18-0 mark at home, the No. 19 UCF baseball team returns to Jay Bergman Field to host North Florida Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. The Knights will then travel south to meet Florida Gulf Coast for the first time Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Ft. Myers.
Schedule:
Tuesday - vs. UNF at 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday - at Florida Gulf Coast at 6 p.m.
Records:
UNF - 11-10 Overall, 5-7 Atlantic Sun
FGCU - 18-5 Overall, 10-2 Atlantic Sun
No. 19 UCF - 20-3 Overall, 1-2 Conference USA
Stadium:
Tuesday - Jay Bergman Field (2,230)
Wednesday - Swanson Stadium (1,000)
Series:
UNF leads UCF, 4-3
UCF and FGCU will be meeting for the first time
Radio/Video:
www.UCFAthletics.com (Tuesday Only)
Live Stats:
www.UCFAthletics.com
(A preview of Florida Gulf Coast will be available online following UCF's contest against North Florida)
Upcoming Opponent
Coming off a weekend in which it went 2-1 vs. South Carolina Upstate, North Florida owns an 11-10 record, including victories over Florida International and Mississippi State. The Ospreys are batting over .300 with a team mark of .306, however they have only stolen eight bases and have made 35 errors. Andrew Hannon leads the offense with a .382 batting average and 22 RBI. On the rubber, the UNF staff claims a 6.09 ERA as opponents are batting .329 vs. Osprey pitching.
The Series
UNF claims a slim 4-3 all-time advantage over the Knights, highlighted by a three-game sweep over UCF at Jay Bergman Field in 2006. The last time the Black and Gold defeated the Ospreys was a 7-3 win in Jacksonville in 1992.
UCF vs. Southern Miss - March 21-23 Recap
The Knights ran into a wall in game one at Southern Miss, where Barry Bowden struck out 14 in an 8-4 USM win. Ryan Richardson notched a solo homer and had two hits in the loss. UCF pitchers did fan 10 Golden Eagles, marking the 17th time this year they amassed double-digit Ks.
UCF stormed back to take game two, busting out for 15 runs on 14 hits in a 15-4 victory. Kyle Sweat lasted 5.0 innings without giving up a run, as the Knights registered four runs in the fourth and seven in the fifth en route to the win. Tyson Auer led the way with a 3-for-4 performance.
Southern Miss, though, took the rubber match, 10-6, as the Golden Eagles scored three in the second, fifth and sixth innings in the win. Ryan Richardson went 2-for-3 with three runs scored and a triple.
Sitting Them Down the Easy Way
UCF pitchers have racked up 256 strikeouts this season, led by Mitch Houck's 39 Ks. In all, 12 different Knights have double-digit strikeout totals, as the staff is averaging just over 11 per game in 2008.
An Extended No-Hitter
Austin Hudson may have combined with Mitch Houck to no-hit Wagner March 17, but the sophomore righthander had another impressive performance as well. Hudson worked 4.0 hitless innings vs. Monmouth March 8, another 2.0 innings without a blemish March 12 at Stetson and then the 2.0 hitless frames against Wagner. He entered the Southern Miss game March 23 and proceeded to go 2.1 innings without surrendering a hit before his streak was snapped in the fifth inning. Hudson's string of hitless frames came to a close at 12.1 total innings.
The Right Code
Freshman Cody Allen has continuously shined from the UCF bullpen this year and continues to be lights out for opposing hitters. The righty has hurled 10.2 consecutive scoreless innings spanning seven appearances in relief dating back to March 1 vs. Central Michigan. For the year, Allen has struck out 21 hitters in 14.1 innings and holds a 1.88 ERA with a victory and a save.
A Southern Feast
After UCF and Southern Miss played three scoreless innings in Hattiesburg March 22, the Knights' offense woke up in the fourth en route to a 15-4 victory. The 15 runs were the most UCF scored in a league game since its first C-USA contest in program history, an 18-1 win at Marshall March 31, 2006. The 11-run victory also tied for the 12th largest winning margin by UCF in a conference game.
Running Free
UCF has already swiped 55 bases in 2008 in 63 attempts, led by Dwayne Bailey with 13 and Tyson Auer and Josh Siebenaler who each have 11. The Knights have stolen at least two bases in a game 13 times this season.
In 2007, the Knights collected 77 steals out of 94 tries. UCF is only four shy of matching the entire total from the 2006 campaign when it posted 59 stolen bases.
Sweeping Up Around the Berg
UCF opened the season with five-consecutive three-game series sweeps. The last time the Knights accomplished that task was during the 1995 campaign when UCF won six-straight series during a 29-game winning streak.
Lovin' That Home Cookin'
The Knights played 20 non-conference games before the Conference USA schedule kicked in at Southern Miss, with 18 of those contests at Jay Bergman Field. In the end, UCF prevailed all 18 times, including an upset win over No. 5 Missouri. The 2008 season marks the eighth for The Berg, and the 18 wins already has surpassed UCF's total of 15 home wins it posted in 2006.