Feb. 26, 2009
BATON ROUGE, La. (UCFAthletics.com) - Every weekend series is important in college baseball. But it will be a little different for the Knights this weekend, as they will be going up against the No. 1 team in the land starting Friday.
(Click on the link above for a photo gallery of UCF's practice)
UCF (2-2) made the trek to Baton Rouge Thursday to prepare for a three-game series against LSU (4-0). The Black and Gold quickly arrived at the New Alex Box Stadium for an important practice and to get a feel for their surroundings. In 2007, UCF visited the LSU campus and took one of three games from the Tigers, but that was in their previous facility.
On Thursday, head coach Terry Rooney and assistant coach Cliff Godwin, who worked at LSU the last two seasons, met with several members of the Tigers' program before UCF's practice officially got underway. The Knights worked on defensive drills to get a feel for the surface, both in the infield and outfield, as the entire team stayed loose and upbeat for the games ahead.
Along with some bullpen sessions for the pitching staff, batting practice ensued with Godwin serving it up. The Knights are set to face three right-handed starting pitchers this weekend.
Several players started putting balls over the wall towards the end of BP, but it finally came to a close when junior outfielder Chris Duffy crushed the final pitch of the session for a no-doubter that had the entire team energized.
Game one is set for Friday at 8 p.m. ET, as senior righty Kyle Sweat is slated to get the start for the Black and Gold. The Knights will be searching for their first win over a top-ranked team in program history.
Baseball season and single game tickets are on sale now for the 2009 campaign. Call the UCF Ticket Office at (407) 823-1000 for more information. Fans may also visit UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, and is the home of UCF's online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.