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Baseball Ready to Host USF Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.

April 27, 2009

ORLANDO (UCFAthletics.com) - Wrapping up the 2009 season series, UCF takes on USF in a home-and-home beginning Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in Orlando. UCF Athletics and SGA are hosting a pre-game barbecue at the stadium starting at 5:30 p.m. The first 300 students will get free food, they just need to show their ID. Meanwhile, little league players wearing their full uniform get in free with a full price adult.

Game Notes in PDF Format

Schedule:
Tuesday vs. USF - Orlando, Fla. - 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday at USF - Tampa, Fla. - 7 p.m.
Records:
USF - 27-15 Overall, 15-3 Big East
UCF - 15-26 Overall, 5-10 C-USA
Stadium:
Tuesday - Jay Bergman Field (2,230)
Wednesday - Red McEwen Field (1,500)
Series:
USF leads, 53-49
Live Coverage:
UCFAthletics.com
Radio - Tuesday:
740-AM with Marc Daniels on the Call

UCF vs. UAB Series Recap
UCF claimed its second-straight C-USA road series by taking two of three at UAB last weekend. The Knights opened up with a 29-9 victory in game one where it set the school record for runs and hits (28). Even though it dropped the second game, 12-8, they bounced back for a 12-6 triumph in the finale. Overall, UCF scored 49 runs vs. the Blazers, the most in a three-game league series in program history.

Upcoming Opponent
Sweeping a Big East series from West Virginia, USF enters the week with an overall mark of 27-15. The Bulls had double-digit hits in each of those victories to help bring their team average to .319. On the hill, they hold a 4.43 ERA with 295 strikeouts in 372.0 innings.

The Series
With two wins earlier this year, USF sits on a 53-49 overall lead in the series with the Knights. In game one vs. Tampa March 10, the Bulls broke a 5-5 tie in the bottom of the seventh for an 8-5 win, before jumping on UCF with nine runs in the first four innings en route to a 13-5 win the next day in Orlando.

Maniac
UCF held the NCAA record from 1985-02 when Odie Koehnke reached base in 17-straight plate appearances during the `85 campaign. That was until Cal State Northridge's Shaun Larkin got aboard 18-consecutive times in `02. However, the UCF name has been reattached to that record thanks to Shane Brown.

It all started with a double in the seventh inning against Stetson April 21. Brown then had another two-bagger in the eighth. But it was in game one at UAB April 25 that made those doubles really stand out as he then reached base in all eight plate appearances vs. the Blazers. One day later, the junior got aboard all five times, and in the series finale, Brown had a homer, double and single to tie the mark of 18-straight. Even though he flew out in his fourth at-bat April 26, Brown still went 13-for-18 in those four games for a .722 batting average, 1.333 slugging percentage, .783 on-base percentage and a 2.116 OPS.

Let's Go Crazy
The eye-popping results from April 21-26 certainly brought up the question, "What records did UCF break?" Well, here they are (along with records the Knights came close to matching):
Most Consecutive Times on Base - 18 by Shane Brown (4/21-26) NCAA record
Most Runs in a Game - 29 (4/24)
Most Runs in Consecutive Games - 42 (4/21-24)
Most Hits in a Game - 28 (4/24)
Most RBI in a Game - 26 (4/24)
Largest Victory in a League Game - 20 runs (4/24)
Second-Most Doubles in a Game- 9 (4/24
Most Individual Runs in a Game - 6 by D.J. Hicks (4/24)
Second-Most Individual Hits - 5 by D.J. Hicks and Shane Brown (4/24)
Most Runs in a Three-Game League Series - 49 (4/24-26)

Simply Irresistible
Even more nuggets during the 29-9 victory vs. UAB:
- All 13 Knights that batted scored a run.
- UCF walked 10 times and struck out just three.
- It was the second-most runs given up in a game by UAB.
- Caleb Graham tied a career-high with 6.0 innings on the mound, not walking a batter and giving up just one run.

Rock On
UCF reached the 52 home run mark when it smashed four at UAB April 26. With 52 homers 41 games into the season, this year's squad already ranks as the eighth-most powerful team in UCF history:
1) 1998 - 66 HR in 62 GP - 1.065 HR/game
T2) 2005 - 63 HR in 60 GP - 1.050 HR/game
T2) 1999 - 63 HR in 59 GP - 1.068 HR/game
4) 2001 - 62 HR in 65 GP - 0.954 HR/game
5) 1987 - 61 HR in 60 GP - 1.017 HR/game
6) 2000 - 58 HR in 62 GP - 0.935 HR/game
7) 1997 - 57 HR in 64 GP - 0.891 HR/game
8) 2009 - 52 HR in 41 GP - 1.268 HR/game

Some of the credit for UCF's outburst could be credited to moving in the fences 10 feet at Jay Bergman Field. However, the Knights have still hit 20 dingers in 17 games away from its home surface for an average of 1.176 long balls per game. At home, they have smashed 32 in 24 games, good for a 1.333 per game average.

Air Supply
Kiko Vazquez's long ball at UAB April 26 was his 11th of 2009, the most in a single-season for the senior. Brandon Romans also has a career-high 11 homers this year, as the duo has become the first pair since Dee Brown (18) and John-Michael Howell (15) in 2005 to both have double-digit home runs in a season.

Let's Hear It For the Boys
All three senior starting pitchers went at least 5.0 innings in the series victory at UAB April 24-26. Caleb Graham opened up with six frames in game one, allowing just one run for the win, while Kyle Sweat gave up three earned runs in five innings of work in the next day. Taking the hill for the rubber match, Jaager Good delivered 6.0 strong innings with four strikeouts to grab the important victory.