Feb. 26, 2010
| UCF vs. Siena Feb. 26, 2010 |
| From Orlando, Fla. | |||||
| Team | R | H | E | ||
| Siena | 3 | 9 | 2 | ||
| UCF | 8 | 14 | 1 | ||
WP: Owen Dew (2-0), 5.0 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
LP: Justin Brantley (0-2), 4.2 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
SV: Brennan Dobbins (1), 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
Game-Changing Moment
Beau Taylor was at it again Friday. In a 3-3 game in the bottom of the fifth, his one-out triple sparked the offense in the inning, as Jonathan Griffin connected for a RBI single and Chris Duffy drove a triple of his own to right (both Griffin and Duffy's hits were on the first pitch they saw). Now with the lead, Chris Taladay put it away with his two-run shot to right.
Three Stars
First Star: Chris Taladay - 2-for-4, three RBI, key two-run homer in the fifth
Second Star: Brennan Dobbins - 4.0-inning save, only two hits allowed with five Ks
Third Star: Darnell Sweeney - 3-for-5 with a run and two steals, and hit the ball hard all night
UCF Notes for Game Two Saturday
Game Notes in PDF Format
By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com
Orlando, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - For the fifth-straight game, UCF pounded out at least 11 hits in an 8-3 victory over Siena Friday night in Orlando. The Knights (4-1) closed out the evening by outhitting the Saints (1-5), 14-9, including seven extra-base knocks, while they also added five stolen bases.
Every starting position player notched a hit Friday, along with either posting a RBI or scoring a run. Freshman Chris Taladay drove in three, highlighted by his first-collegiate homer that put the game away in the fifth. Classmate Darnell Sweeney led all batters with three hits, as UCF ended the night by rapping out four doubles, two triples and a home run.
Starting pitcher Owen Dew picked up his second win in as many starts Friday. After he let the first three batters get aboard, the righty calmed down to finish 5.0 innings on the hill with four strikeouts. From the pen, junior Brennan Dobbins threw 41 of 58 pitches for strikes in his 4.0 scoreless-inning performance. The righty surrendered just two hits and no walks, and sat down five on strikes for the save.
"It was nice to go out and have everything working for you," said Dobbins, whose save was his first since 2008. "I was just trying to follow the game plan that head coach Terry Rooney and I have been working on for a long time. We've improved a lot with me personally from last year to this year, and honestly I'm just going out trying to pound the zone and throw strikes. As a reliever you have to. You have to bury guys with strikes because you stop momentum that way."
Dew experienced some hiccups in the first inning, as the first two Saints got aboard and Dan Paolini brought them both in on a three-run homer. The Knights did answer in the bottom half, with Sweeney recording his first extra-base hit by sending a one-out double down the left-field line. Shane Brown immediately followed by placing a 2-1 offering from Justin Brantley into center for the RBI single.
While Dew settled down, the bats went back to work in the third and received a lot of help from the Siena defense. A dropped foul ball got it started and eventually the Knights had runners at second and third with one out. That set up Brown's second RBI of the game as he sent a grounder back to the mound, yet it carried weird English and Brantley could not glove it cleanly. Another error then enabled UCF to load the bases, but the Siena righty sat down the next two Knights to escape.
However, the Black and Gold kept at it in the fourth and its persistence paid off by finally tying it up at 3-3. Austin Johnston kicked it off with a double and Kevin Vasquez matched him with a two-bagger of his own to left. The Knights would have runners at the corners with one away only to see first baseman Al Williams snag a hard line drive off the bat of Sweeney, and Williams stepped on first for the inning-ending double play.
Siena hoped to return the favor in the top of the fifth, putting baserunners at second and third with two away. Dew buckled down, though, and induced Williams to ground out to short with first baseman Jonathan Griffin making a great scoop to end the threat.
Thanks to clutch glovework from the infield, the Knights carried momentum into the home half where they plated four runs on four hits. With one down, Beau Taylor dropped a perfect ball into the left-field corner for his first-career triple, and Griffin came through by sending a first-pitch single into center. Chris Duffy also liked the first pitch he saw, and went to right field for a triple as well. Although Brantley got the next out, Taladay blasted a no-doubt two-run homer to right to make it 7-3.
Taladay came right back in the seventh, sending a RBI base hit to right, scoring Griffin who led off with a walk. With Taladay's third RBI backing him, Dobbins remained in cruise control, closing out the Saints for the save.
With game one in the books, both teams will look ahead to game two of the series Saturday at 4 p.m.
Season tickets for the 2010 campaign are currently on sale. To purchase tickets, call 407-823-1000 or visit UCFAthletics.com. And for the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com and become a follower of the Knights on Twitter and Facebook.
Game Notes
Siena - 1-5 Overall
UCF - 4-1 Overall
-Among the UCF baseball alumni in attendance were Tim Bascom, Austin Hudson, Eric Kallstrom, Chadd Hartman, Kyle Mills, Matt McClung, Matt Fox and Gil Gomez.
-Beau Taylor's hitting streak climbed to eight games dating back to last year. Meanwhile, Taylor, Chris Duffy, Jonathan Griffin and Austin Johnston have all had at least one hit in each game in 2010.
-Kevin Vasquez and Darnell Sweeney each had two stolen bases, and Ronnie Richardson also had one swipe. That marked the second game this season UCF amassed five steals in a contest.
-For the season, the Knights have 10 stolen bases. In 2009, they had 24 for the whole campaign.
-Austin Johnston moved over to third base Friday and delivered a pair of doubles and scored a run.