April 15, 2008
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - In chilly conditions in Jacksonville, the UCF baseball team watched North Florida break a 3-3 tie in the eighth inning as the Ospreys posted a 5-3 victory Tuesday. The loss dropped the Knights' overall record to 26-13 on the season.
Starting on the mound for the Knights, junior Mitch Herold hurled at least 7.0 innings for the second-consecutive time, tossing 7.0 frames vs. UNF (21-16) with seven strikeouts and just three runs against him.
UCF successfully used a hit and run in the third inning to set up the game's first run. After senior Tyson Auer singled through the right side vs. Jonathan Turner, junior Chadd Hartman laced a base hit to left center with Auer moving on the play to get runners at the corners and one down. With senior Dwayne Bailey at the dish, a passed ball pushed Auer across for a 1-0 Knight lead.
North Florida responded in the fourth, picking up five-consecutive one-out singles to climb out to a 3-1 advantage. However, in UCF's next trip to the dish, it placed runners at the corners with two down and ended up scoring twice on an error and a wild pitch.
Now with the score knotted at 3-3, UNF's Sam Perry tried to retake the lead for the Ospreys in the sixth, reaching third on a walk, sac bunt and stolen base. But with one down and the Knights' defense playing in, Mike P. Smith grounded to junior Robert Lara at first who promptly threw home, enabling Brandon Romans to tag out Perry trying to score.
UNF finally took the lead for good in the eighth against reliever Austin Hudson. The Ospreys scored quickly by opening the frame with a walk and three-straight singles, and they eventually plated one more run on a bases-loaded walk for the 5-3 win.
The Knights resume Conference USA play this weekend with a trip to Marshall. Game one is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. at Appalachian Power Park in Charleston, W.Va.
UCF baseball single-game tickets 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
UCF - 26-13 Overall, 4-8 Conference USA
North Florida -21-16 Overall, 11-10 Atlantic Sun
WP: Tucker Pryor (4-3), 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
LP: Austin Hudson (2-1), 1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
- Head coach Jay Bergman was ejected in the bottom of the fourth for arguing a call at first base. It was the first time the skipper was thrown out of a game since April 30, 2006, vs. Rice.
- Brandon Romans, Josh Siebenaler and Colin Arnold each stole a base vs. UNF. UCF has now stolen at least two bases in each of the last five games.
- With two singles, Evan Stobbs now has at least two hits in four of his last six outings.
- Brandon Romans and Tyson Auer also had a pair of hits.
- Eric Kallstrom witnessed his 13-game hitting streak come to an end Tuesday.
- North Florida won both meetings against UCF in 2008.