May 3, 2008
Sunday's Game Three Preview in PDF Format
NEW ORLEANS, La. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF baseball team suffered its fifth-straight loss Saturday in a 6-1 defeat at the hands of No. 27 Tulane in New Orleans. Junior Robert Lara went 2-for-4 at the plate with a homer, but his effort was not enough and the Knights dropped to 27-21 on the year and 5-15 in Conference USA.
Senior Tyson Auer made a move on two separate UCF career statistical charts. The center fielder recorded hit No. 216 to tie Eric Riggs for 10th place in school history, while he stole his 76th base to enter into a three-way tie for third all-time. Working the stick as well, Lara delivered a tape-measure homer in the second to give him three dingers on the year. It was his first home run of 2008 that was not a grand slam.
Taking the hill for UCF vs. the Green Wave (32-13-1, 10-5-1), junior Mitch Herold (3-3) was working the inside portion of the plate to righties and the outside part to lefties for the majority of his outing. The southpaw completed his evening with 5.0 plus innings, allowing three runs and striking out six. It was Herold's fourth-consecutive start in which he did not surrender more than three earned runs.
"The only thing that caught up with Mitch tonight was his pitch count," said interim head coach Craig Cozart. "Tulane's got a great offensive approach and they have good strike-zone discipline. So that ran his pitch count up higher than what it should have been."
Herold's counterpart, Matt Petiton, provided Tulane with another solid performance, becoming the first opposing pitcher to toss a complete game vs. UCF this season. The lefty gave up just four hits and sat down 14 in a row from the fourth to the ninth inning en route to improving his record to 6-0.
For the second-straight night, Tulane connected for a run in the first when Anthony Scelfo blasted a solo homer to center. That did not seem to affect the Knights' offense in the second. With one down, Lara crushed a 1-1 pitch from Petition over the towering scoreboard in left field, a drive that appeared to have traveled at least 430 feet.
A missed location in the fourth started up the Tulane bats, as lefty Sam Honeck doubled on an inside pitch with Lara set up on the outside part of the plate with one away. Andrew Rodgers gave the Wave runners at the corners with a single to left, only to see Josh Prince follow by hitting into a fielder's choice with Honeck being thrown out at home. After a two-out walk that loaded the bases, Herold found his spot this time and struck out left-hander Scelfo as he swung at a 1-2 fastball on the outside portion of the plate.
Even though UCF did not suffer any damage in the fourth, Honeck returned in the bottom of the sixth and drove the first pitch of the frame over the fence in right for the go-ahead run. Later in the inning, Tulane got some breathing room with three more runs, two off the UCF bullpen, to jump out to a 5-1 advantage. Honeck pestered UCF again in the seventh, swiping home on a two-out double steal for the Wave's sixth and final run.
The Knights and Green Wave conclude the series Sunday with the finale scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.
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 - 27-21 Overall, 5-15 Conference USA
No. 27 Tulane - 32-13-1 Overall, 10-5-1 Conference USA
WP: Matt Petiton (6-0), 9.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
LP: Mitch Herold (3-3), 5.0 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 K
- UCF has now lost nine of its last 10 games.
- The Knights' 2008 record vs. ranked teams fell to 2-4.
- Kiko Vazquez's 10-game hitting streak dating back to the 2007 season came to an end Saturday.
- Robert Lara's home run was UCF's 31st long ball of the year. Last season, the Knights had just 25 homers.
- Along with being in the top 10 in hits and stolen bases, Tyson Auer is ninth in career sacrifice hits and triples.
- Mitch Herold has pitched into the sixth inning in three of his last four starts.
- Cody Allen worked the final 1.2 innings out of the Knight bullpen. The freshman struck out three, did not walk a batter and allowed just one hit while throwing 17 of his 21 pitches for strikes.
- Shane Brown was hit by a pitch for the 13th time this year, moving him into a tie for seventh on the UCF single-season list.