March 7, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The No. 25 UCF baseball team was able to squeeze in just over four innings against Monmouth Friday at Jay Bergman Field before rain and lightning forced the game to be called with the Knights ahead, 3-2. The two programs will pick up the action Saturday at 1 p.m. with the originally scheduled game to follow.
UCF had just taken a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth, and had runners at first and second with two outs and sophomore Shane Brown at the dish. Senior pitcher Jaager Good threw 5.0 innings, striking out four and giving up two runs.
Good entered Friday's game by not allowing a run in his last 17.2 innings, but Monmouth ended that quickly by striking for two in the top of the first with RBI hits from Andy Meyers and Rick Niederhaus. The Knights came right back with one run in their half, making it 2-1 on a fielder's choice with senior Tyson Auer at the plate, scoring junior Josh Siebenaler who led off the inning by way of an infield single.
With rain beginning to fall lightly over Jay Bergman Field, UCF erased its deficit in the third to tie it at 2-2. Senior Dwayne Bailey got things going with a one-out bunt single off starter Brett Brach, and Auer followed with a double to place two runners in scoring position. Cleanup hitter Colin Arnold then drove in Bailey on a sacrifice fly to center. That was when lightning lit up the skies and both teams were forced to retreat indoors for a 51-minute rain delay.
When the teams returned, rain still lingered and seemed to have an affect on the pitchers. Good had to escape a jam in the top of the fifth with runners at second and third and two outs. The same did not hold true for reliever Kyle Bresse. After posting the first out, Bresse gave up a double to left to Siebenaler and then tossed in a wild pitch to bring him to third. Bailey strode to the plate and promptly put the Knights ahead with a single back up the middle. It was good timing since the rain hit hard and forced the rest of the action to be postponed.
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.