April 6, 2009
ORLANDO (UCFAthletics.com) - UCF's longest road trip of 2009 comes to a close when it travels to North Florida Tuesday and Florida Wednesday to complete its five-game journey. Both games will feature internet-only broadcasts at UCFAthletics.com. The Knights will send out freshman righty Jordan Rasinski to the mound vs. the Ospreys as he will be making his first collegiate start.
Schedule:
Tuesday at North Florida - Jacksonville, Fla. - 7 p.m.
Wednesday at Florida - Gainesville, Fla. - 6:30 p.m.
Records:
North Florida - 14-18 Overall, 8-7 Atlantic Sun
Florida - 19-10 Overall, 7-4 SEC
UCF - 10-21 Overall, 2-7 C-USA
Stadium:
Tuesday: Harmon Stadium (1,000)
Wednesday: McKethan Stadium (5,500)
Series:
North Florida leads UCF, 6-4
Florida leads UCF, 18-12
Live Stats:
UCFAthletics.com
Live Audio:
UCFAthletics.com
UCF vs. Memphis Series Recap
After Memphis cruised to a 10-5 victory in game one at AutoZone Park, the Knights fought back to win their first C-USA road series since 2006. On Saturday, UCF recorded its biggest inning when it scored seven in the fourth for a 12-7 victory. The Tigers looked poised to claim the finale by holding a 3-0 lead in the top of the ninth. However with two outs, Kiko Vazquez, Chris Duffy and Colin Arnold all homered to complete an incredible comeback.
Upcoming Opponent
Similar to UCF, North Florida won its conference series last weekend by taking two of three from East Tennessee State. Now with a 14-18 record, the Ospreys maintain a team batting average over .300 (.306) with Brian Wilson leading the way with a .383 mark. Both teams still love going deep, as UCF has only posted one more homer than UNF (35-34). On the mound North Florida owns a 5.36 staff ERA with four saves and 237 strikeouts in 278.1 innings.
The Series
UCF cut its series deficit with UNF to 6-4 when it toppled the Ospreys, 8-2, on April 1 in Orlando. The Knights used eight pitchers with none of them issuing a walk, and Shane Brown went 4-for-5 with a double and a homer.
Never Surrender
The Knights had just five hits through 8.2 innings at Memphis April 5 and trailed 3-0 as Tiger starter Brach Davis shut down the UCF offense. But facing the bullpen in the ninth inning, the Black and Gold did not give up. Setting up one of the most improbable victories in school history, here's a look back at that memorable ninth:
Facing right-handed reliever Duke Williams
Brandon Romans flied out to right (0-2)
Beau Taylor popped foul to third base (1-1)
Kiko Vazquez homered to deep left (2-0)
D.J. Hicks walked (3-0)
Facing right-handed reliever Matt Yokley
Chris Duffy homered to deep right (3-1)
Pinch-hitter Chadd Hartman singled to left (1-0)
Colin Arnold homered to right (2-2)
UCF wins 5-3 as D.J. Hicks blanked Memphis' bats in
the bottom of the eighth and ninth innings
The Finer Things
Lovely random notes from the win at Memphis April 5:
- The three ninth-inning homers marked the first time since April 15, 2006, at No. 23 Tulane that the Knights crushed three dingers in the same inning.
- With the victory, UCF claimed its first Conference USA road series since its first-ever C-USA match-up at Marshall in 2006.
- Colin Arnold's homer in the ninth not only pushed UCF into the lead, it also moved his hitting streak to 14 games.
- UCF's five hits in the ninth tied the school's all-time record for most hits in a ninth inning.
- The five runs in the ninth were the most UCF scored in its last at-bat since plating five in the seventh and final inning of a 10-9 victory over No. 5 Missouri Feb. 25, 2008.
Hungry Eyes
Overshadowed by UCF's late-inning heroics at Memphis April 5, Kyle Sweat entered the game hoping to give his team a shot at claiming the series against the Tigers. He did just that. The senior went 7.0 innings and struck out a career-high nine. Sweat retired the side in order in five of those innings, did not allow a hit until the fifth inning and sat down 10 in a row at one point. Memphis posted all four of its hits and three runs in the fifth frame, the only inning the Tigers put a runner in scoring position.
Hot in the City
Facing the Tigers in downtown Memphis April 4, Chris Duffy and the entire UCF offense made AutoZone Park their playground. Duffy went 3-for-6 with five RBI, a double and a triple, while the Knights combined for 17 hits including seven extra-base hits for the 12-7 win. Along with Duffy, Beau Taylor and D.J. Hicks also had three hits, and Brandon Romans went yard with a solo homer in the seventh.
Time After Time
A pair of hitting streaks remain alive as UCF gets set to travel to UNF Tuesday. Junior Shane Brown has built his career-best streak to 21 games dating back to March 4 at FIU, and that ranks as the second-longest in UCF history, trailing only Mike Myers' 2001 streak of 26 games. During this stretch, Brown has gone 31-for-79 for a .392 average.