April 11, 2009
Notes for the April 12 Game in PDF Format
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Tulane belted two homers in the first inning and was quickly on its way to a 20-5 victory against UCF Saturday in Orlando. Continuing his career-long hitting streak for the Knights (12-23, 3-8 Conference USA), senior Colin Arnold recorded at least one hit for the 18th-straight outing. The outfielder is now one game shy of moving into a four-way tie for third on the UCF all-time list.
Freshman Beau Taylor and senior Kiko Vazquez launched back-to-back home runs in the sixth, giving Taylor three four-baggers this season while it was Vazquez's ninth in 2009, which tied his single-season high he set in 2007. Vazquez's shot also was the 25th of his career as he climbed to within one of Dee Brown who ranks sixth on the school's all-time HR chart.
Overall, the two clubs combined to hit nine balls over the fences on Saturday, highlighted by three from the Green Wave's Jamie Bruno.
A two-out first-inning walk haunted UCF starting pitcher Jaager Good as Jeremy Schaffer followed with a two-run homer and Bruno also went yard with a solo shot for Tulane (18-16, 2-6). Reliever Anthony Figliolia came on in the second and surrendered one more to give Tulane a 4-0 cushion.
Hoping to answer, the Knights placed the first two aboard in the second against righty Josh Zeid. After the senior got the first out, freshman D.J. Hicks blooped an 0-2 pitch into right field. Senior Brandon Romans, who led off with a walk, read the ball perfectly off the bat from second base and scampered home on the base hit for UCF's first run. The Knights cut the lead in half when junior Chris Duffy, with runners at second and third and one out, did his job of taking a two-strike pitch to right field for a groundout, allowing Taylor to touch home.
Now trailing just 4-2, UCF could not keep the Green Wave off the board when they returned to the dish as Bruno crushed another ball over the fence, this time a two-run job, in the third. They pushed it to 7-2 by way of a two-out RBI double from Josh Prince. Tulane eventually put it out of reach by scoring at least once in all eight innings, as the game was called after eight due to the 15-run rule in C-USA play.
The rubber match with the Green Wave will feature an early start time as the two clubs will do battle Sunday at 11 a.m.
Baseball flex pack voucher packages as well as single game tickets are on sale 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.
Game Notes
Tulane - 18-16 Overall, 2-6 Conference USA
UCF - 12-23 Overall, 3-8 Conference USA
WP: Josh Zeid (5-0), 5.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
LP: Jaager Good (0-4), 1.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
- Beau Taylor and Kiko Vazquez had back-to-back homers in the sixth, marking the first time UCF went back-to-back since Chris Duffy and Ryan Richardson did it in the win over No. 5 Missouri Feb. 25, 2008.
- Taylor and Duffy each collected two hits to pace the UCF offense.
- Behind the plate, Taylor threw out one of the top base stealers in the country when he nabbed Josh Prince trying to steal second in the first inning. Prince entered the week ranked second in the nation in stolen bases with 26. It was just the third time he was thrown out this year.