May 2, 2008
Saturday's Game Two Preview in PDF Format
NEW ORLEANS, La. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Rainy conditions did not hamper No. 27 Tulane from defeating the UCF baseball team, 5-2, Friday at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium in New Orleans. The Knights' loss to the Green Wave (31-13-1, 9-5-1) in game one of the three-game Conference USA series moved their league record to 5-14 and 27-20 overall.
Shooter Hunt got revenge on the Knights after they defeated Tulane with Hunt on the mound in game two of the series last year in Orlando. The C-USA leader in ERA and strikeouts allowed just one hit until giving up two in the eighth. Hunt completed his outing with 7.0 innings and six strikeouts to improve to 8-1 on the year. For UCF, starter Kyle Sweat did not walk a batter and struck out three in 5.0 innings. He fell to 5-3 for 2008 as Tulane notched four runs on 11 hits off the righty.
"Our energy was good tonight," said interim head coach Craig Cozart. "We played hard, but we faced one of the best pitchers in the nation and he was tremendous tonight. You have to tip your hat to Shooter Hunt. He controlled the game offensively. And it was a very good approach from Tulane. They swung the bat great and had 13 hits. We were fortunate to keep it a close game and have a chance at the end.
Junior Chadd Hartman drove in both UCF runs on a double in the eighth inning. Meanwhile, classmate Kiko Vazquez stretched his hitting streak to 10 games dating back to last year as he has posted at least one hit in all seven outings this season. In the field, the Knights did not make an error for the second-straight game and have not committed more than two miscues in a game in 16-straight contests.
"We are fielding close to .970 so you have to be really proud of that," added Cozart. "These are the two best fielding teams in the conference and it showed. We had two great defensive plays and minimized what they could do offensively, such as catcher Robert Lara picking off a runner to end an inning and then Eric Kallstrom saving a run with a play up the middle. That was huge early in the game."
The Green Wave got to work immediately in the bottom of the first, loading them up with one out vs. Sweat. Jared Dyer provided run No. 1 on a groundout to second, but Sweat limited the damage by earning the third out on a fly ball to center off the bat of Sam Honeck.
Defensive work by the Knights in the second kept the deficit to 1-0 in the second. With two down, Josh Prince singled and stole second to get into scoring position. Drew Allen then drove a base hit up the middle, but Kallstrom at short made a diving play to keep the ball on the infield. He quickly got up, saw Allen rounding third and fired a strike to Lara who put the tag down to get the third out.
However, Tulane did get its second run in the third on a leadoff homer by Anthony Scelfo. It was just the second homer Sweat had given up all season. He surrendered another solo blast in the fourth, where after a 14-minute rain delay Honeck made it 3-0 on a drive down the right-field line.
UCF put together its first threat in the fifth, as sophomore Shane Brown started the frame with a double into the right-center gap. Following a fly out, senior Ryan Richardson drew a walk to bring the tying run to the plate. But Hunt retired the next two batters to keep the Knights off the board.
Sweat eventually reached the sixth before giving up a leadoff double, and when UCF went to the pen, Warren McFadden greeted it with a two-run homer. Now trailing 5-0 and Hunt still on the mound, Richardson was plunked to get the eighth going and proceeded to steal second. Kallstrom came through with a single and he also stole second to place runners in scoring position. After falling behind in the count 0-2, Hartman lined a 2-2 offering the opposite way and down the left-field line for a two-run double.
That would serve as Hunt's last pitch. Right-handed sidearmer Mason Griffin stepped on the hill for Tulane and even though UCF was putting together a rally and had a runner at second with no outs, he promptly sat down the Knights' next three hitters, ending the stanza with the Green Wave ahead, 5-2. The Black and Gold did get the tying run back to the plate in the top of the ninth with two away, only to see Rob Segedin close out the Tulane win.
Game two of the three-game set in New Orleans gets underway at 7 p.m. ET Saturday.
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 - 27-20 Overall, 5-14 Conference USA
No. 27 Tulane - 31-13-1 Overall, 9-5-1 Conference USA
WP: Shooter Hunt (8-1), 7.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
LP: Kyle Sweat (5-3), 5.0 IP, 11 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
- Both teams dealt with three separate short rain delays early in the game and another before the bottom of the eighth, but a full tarp was not needed since Tulane's new stadium features an artificial surface on the entire field, with the exception of the pitching mound.
- Shane Brown made his first start at third base since the 2007 campaign.
- Ryan Richardson's stolen base in the eighth inning was his ninth of the season. Eric Kallstrom's steal in the same frame was his fourth of 2008.
- Austin Hudson tossed 2.2 hitless innings of relief with a pair of strikeouts.