April 2, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The No. 25 UCF baseball team dropped its fourth-straight game in a 6-4 loss to Florida Gulf Coast Wednesday at Jay Bergman Field. The Knights will now enter the weekend with a 22-8 record, while the Eagles stretched their record to 23-7 on the year.
Pacing the UCF offense, senior Tyson Auer and juniors Eric Kallstrom, Brandon Romans and Colin Arnold each collected two hits, while Kallstrom stole a career-high two bases.
For the fourth-consecutive outing, UCF's opponent scored in the top of the first inning as FGCU scored once on an Ozzie Borrell RBI single against Brian Griggs. After Griggs left the contest due to an injury, Eagle starting pitcher Chris Coleman then made it 4-0 on a three-run double off Matt Manning in the third and FGCU added one more in the frame for a 5-0 cushion.
The Knights attempted to cut into the FGCU lead in the fourth, scoring one run on a fielding error but eventually left runners at second and third with one out. Coleman shut down the UCF offense the rest of the way, going 8.0 innings with eight strikeouts, and the Eagles tallied one final run in the ninth to clinch the victory. Arnold and sophomore Shane Brown each notched RBI hits in the bottom of the ninth but it was not enough to complete the comeback.
UCF's Conference USA season resumes this weekend when it travels to Texas to battle Houston Friday-Sunday.
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
Florida Gulf Coast - 23-7 Overall, 13-2 Atlantic Sun
No. 25 UCF - 22-8 Overall, 2-4 Conference USA
WP: Casey Coleman (3-2), 8.0 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K
LP: Brian Griggs (1-2), 0.2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
- Senior Brian Griggs was making his first start in a UCF uniform since transferring from Alabama.
- Freshman Stephen Branca earned his first collegiate start, batting eighth and playing third base.
- UCF's losing streak is the longest since a four-game slide April 17-22 last year.
- Dwayne Bailey recorded his fifth sacrifice bunt of the year. It also was his 16th of his career, which is seventh on the UCF all-time list.
- Eric Kallstrom (two), Tyson Auer and Brandon Romans each stole a base Wednesday night, giving the Knights 68 steals for 2008. For Romans, it was his first SB in two seasons with UCF.
- Brennan Dobbins hurled 2.2 shutout innings with three strikeouts from the bullpen.
- Austin Hudson did not allow a run in 2.1 innings of relief and added a strikeout.