Aug. 25, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - With classes opening on campus Monday, the UCF baseball team announced its fall schedule as well as rounded out its roster for the 2009 season. New head coach Terry Rooney will begin his first team practice Sept. 21 at 5 p.m., while the annual Black & Gold World Series will be held Oct. 21-23 with all three games getting underway at 8:30 a.m.
Monday also marked the first team meeting for the 2009 program, and plenty of new faces were on hand besides the coaching staff. A quintet of Winter Springs High graduates, IF Jake Huxtable, OF Austin Smith, RHP/IF Anthony Figliolia, RHP Bryan Brown and RHP Jordan Rasinski, joined the party after stellar prep careers in the Orlando area. Also prepared to suit up for the Knights are RHP/OF Gil Gomez (senior, Holy Cross), OF B.J. Zimmerman (Osceola HS), C Beau Taylor (Rockledge HS) and IF D.J. Hicks (Lake Brantley HS).
All nine newcomers will be key factors in filling in some holes leftover from 2008. A total of five Knights from last year's club are now playing at the professional level (lefties Mitch Herold and Mitch Houck, catcher Robert Lara, second baseman Dwayne Bailey and center fielder Tyson Auer). They helped the Black and Gold post a 31-27 record.
However, plenty of talent returns. A total of 12 Knights are back for their senior seasons, including first baseman Kiko Vazquez and right-hander Jaager Good, who both suffered extensive injuries a year ago. And that figure does not include juniors Shane Brown (1B/3B, .367 BA, nine homers) and Chris Duffy (DH/3B, .282, eight homers).
This year's fall schedule will enable the coaches to get a feel for this year's squad with three weeks of individual sessions and five weeks of team practices on the slate. It all leads up to the Black & Gold World Series, as fans are welcome to attend the event for free at Jay Bergman Field. It will serve as a perfect opportunity for the campus and Orlando region to stop by and meet the new coaching staff and take in some competitive college baseball at the same time.
The entire 2009 UCF spring schedule will be released at a later date.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to www.UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit www.UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.