May 19, 2009
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (UCFAthletics.com) - Completing the Conference USA regular-season schedule with a 9-8 record in its last 17 games, UCF enters the postseason as the No. 8 seed and will face No. 1 East Carolina Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET in Hattiesburg, Miss. Every Knights' game will be on 740-AM. The other half of UCF's bracket includes No. 4 Tulane and No. 5 Southern Miss, as the tournament is a double-elimination format with each team playing their second game on Thursday.
Schedule in Hattiesburg, Miss.:
Wednesday - 5 p.m. ET - vs. No. 1 Seed East Carolina
Thursday - 1:30 p.m. ET OR 8:30 p.m. ET vs. No. 5 Southern Miss or No. 4 Tulane
Records:
East Carolina - 41-15 Overall, 17-7 C-USA
UCF - 22-33 Overall, 9-15 C-USA
Stadium:
Pete Taylor Park (6,600)
Series:
ECU leads, 14-4
Live Stats:
UCFAthletics.com and C-USA.org
Live Video:
UCFAthletics.com and C-USA.org
Radio
740-AM with Marc Daniels on the Call
Knights in the C-USA Championship
UCF has qualified for the C-USA Championship each of the last three seasons, and owns a 1-4 record entering Wednesday's tilt with ECU. Here's the Knights' breakdown of their results:
- Loss vs. Rice, 16-6, May 23, 2007
- Win vs. Houston, 1-0, May 24, 2007
- Loss vs. Memphis, 12-6, May 25, 2007
- Loss vs. Southern Miss, 8-5, May 21, 2008
- Loss vs. Tulane, 5-2, May 23, 2008
UCF vs. Houston Series Recap
It came down to the final series of the season for the Knights as they looked to claim a spot in the postseason, and they capitalized on their opportunity. UCF held Houston to a .228 batting average May 14-16 while the Knights' pitching staff posted a 2.00 ERA as they took two of three from the Cougars in Orlando. Kiko Vazquez hit .444 in the three-game set, and Chris Duffy, Brandon Romans and Colin Arnold all went 4-for-10 to pace the UCF aluminum.
Upcoming Opponent
East Carolina locked up the regular-season crown on the final day of the C-USA schedule, but it has posted all-around solid numbers all year long. It currently stands at 41-15 in 2009 and earned conference series wins over all but two teams (Rice and Tulane). Led by Ryan Wood's .391 average and 13 homers, the offense boasts a .344 team BA with 94 dingers and 506 runs scored. When the Pirates' aluminum is not at work, the pitching staff has notched a 4.14 ERA, striking out 459 batters in 493.0 innings.
The Series
UCF and East Carolina have never met in the postseason, but the Pirates dominated the regular-season series with the Knights March 20-22 this year, outscoring the Black and Gold 49-7. That enabled ECU to take a 14-4 all-time lead over UCF.
New Sensation
A look at some of the things UCF has accomplished under first-year head coach Terry Rooney and his staff:
- Highest combined team GPA in program history (3.2).
- Highest spring team GPA in school history (3.1).
- Tied the UCF single-season home run mark with 66.
- Highest-attended series when 5,582 fans came out for opening weekend.
- Largest single-game crowd thanks to 2,758 packing the ballpark against Florida March 18.
- Second fewest strikeouts (307) by the offense since 1995.
- Most C-USA wins in a season (nine).
Rock On
UCF reached the 66 home run mark with one vs. Houston May 15. With 66 homers in 55 games, this year's squad already is tied for the most powerful team in UCF history:
1) 1998 - 66 HR in 62 GP - 1.065 HR/game
2009 - 66 HR in 55 GP - 1.200 HR/game
Some of the credit for the outburst could go to moving in its fences 10 feet. However, the Knights have still hit 21 dingers in 22 games away from its home surface for an average of 0.955 long balls per game. At home, they have smashed 45 in 33 games, good for a 1.364 per game average.
Pump Up the Volume
Beau Taylor certainly is not playing like a freshman anymore. For the season, Taylor has seven three-hit games along with a .338 batting average, four homers, 14 doubles and 28 runs.
Behind the plate, the backstop has thrown out a C-USA best 23 would-be basestealers, including a pair in the third inning alone vs. Stetson April 21, one in each game of the Houston series and two of the nation's top runners.
At Florida April 8, he removed Matt den Dekker to snap a streak dating back to 2007 of 29-straight stolen bases for the UF junior. Taylor also threw out Tulane's Josh Prince on April 11, as it was just the third time in 29 tries Prince was nabbed in 2009.
UCF has had several memorable catchers don the Black and Gold uniform this decade, including many that have gone on to the professional ranks, and Taylor ranks right up there with all of them.
2001: Jeremy Frost - .325 BA, .987 FLD, 23 Runners CS
2002: Jeremy Frost - .248 BA, .986 FLD, 24 Runners CS
2003: Drew Butera - .305 BA, .985 FLD, 20 Runners CS
2005: Drew Butera - .325 BA, .993 FLD, 28 Runners CS
2006: Ryan Bono - .320 BA, .993 FLD, 24 Runners CS
2009: Beau Taylor - .338 BA, .980 FLD, 23 Runners CS
Working for the Weekend
Several Knights have stepped up in Conference USA games this season, led by freshman catcher Beau Taylor who has a .371 average in league contests. Meanwhile, Kiko Vazquez and Brandon Romans have each hit six homers. Toeing the rubber, Caleb Graham is 3-2 with a 4.54 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 41.2 innings, while Kyle Sweat (2.39) and Jaager Good (4.50) have each produced solid numbers since April 24 at UAB.