March 13, 2010
Game One Final Stats
Game Two Final Stats
| UCF vs. Hartford March 13, 2010 |
| From Orlando, Fla. | |||||
| Game One | R | H | E | ||
| Hartford | 12 | 19 | 4 | ||
| UCF | 11 | 17 | 0 | ||
| Game Two | R | H | E | ||
| Hartford | 9 | 12 | 4 | ||
| UCF | 22 | 15 | 5 | ||
Game One
WP: Bob Rogers (1-0), 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
LP: Chase Bradford (1-2), 1.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
SV: Brian Rice (2), 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
Game-Changing Moment
After UCF went ahead 10-9 in the seventh, Hartford's Mike Amendola crushed a two-run homer in a three-run eighth to put the Hawks ahead for good.
Three Stars
First Star: Hartford C Mike Amendola - 4-for-6, 4 RBI, HR
Second Star: UCF DH Chris Taladay - 4-for-5, 3 R, 1 RBI, 2B, HR
Third Star: UCF CF Alex Friedrich - 3-for-5, 2 R, 1 RBI, HR, came off the bench to have a career-day at the plate
Game Two
WP: Brennan Dobbins (1-0), 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
LP: Steve Sobocinski (0-1), 3.0 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 6 BB, 1 K
SV: None
Game-Changing Moment
Holding a 12-9 lead in the bottom of the fifth and Hartford carrying tons of momentum, Chris Duffy homered for the third time on the day, sending a three-run shot into the palm trees in right-center to ultimately wrap up the win.
Three Stars
First Star: UCF LF Chris Duffy, 3-for-4, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 3 R
Second Star: UCF 3B Chris Taladay, 4-for-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 5 R
Third Star: UCF RP Brennan Dobbins, 4.0 scoreless innings, 1 H, 0 BB, 4 K, winning pitcher
UCF Notes for Game Three Sunday
Game Notes in PDF Format
By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com
Game One Box Score in PDF Format
Game Two Box Score in PDF Format
Orlando, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Orlando's Chris Duffy homered three times as the UCF baseball team (8-7) split a doubleheader with Hartford (2-1) Saturday, dropping the first game 12-11 before taking a 22-9 decision in the nightcap. With nine long balls in 2010, Duffy set a personal-high just 15 games into the season, and recorded a home run in three-straight games for the second time in his career. The senior moved his collegiate total to 30 to take over sixth on the UCF all-time chart.
"I knew I had the potential to have this success at the plate, but I've just got to keep it going throughout the season and do whatever I can do to help this team win," said Duffy. "I'm just trying to keep things simple at the plate, it's nothing magical. And I've matured as a hitter too, the more pitches you see you're able to develop into a good hitter."
Duffy would collect seven RBI for the second time this year, which was one short of the UCF single-game record. Combined, the Cypress Creek High School product amassed 10 RBI Saturday. Meanwhile, freshman and Windermere native Chris Taladay had four hits in both games, scoring eight runs in the doubleheader. Taladay's five runs in the victory were one shy of the school mark of six set last year by D.J. Hicks.
UCF hammered out four homers in game one in a 17-hit attack. Along with Duffy, Alex Friedrich (the first of his career), Taladay and Beau Taylor also mashed out long balls vs. the Hawks.
Although the Knights would drop game one, they took advantage of walks and an error in the first inning of game two en route to a 10-run frame. That would set the school record for most runs in a first inning, and be the first time they plated at least 10 in an inning since May 8, 2007, at Stetson. During the stanza, UCF pulled off a double-steal with Shane Brown swiping home, becoming the first Knight since Chadd Hartman April 13, 2008, to accomplish the feat.
Game One Recap
With a strong wind blowing out to center, Hartford took advantage of the conditions in the third inning of game one when Andy Drexel put a two-out, two-run homer over the center-field wall against Owen Dew. UCF responded in similar fashion in the fourth as Taladay led off the inning with his second homer of the year, but Mike Amendola provided the Hawks with another two-out run with a RBI double in the fifth.
Trailing 3-1 heading into the home half of the fifth, the Knights blew up for four runs and a 5-3 lead. In his first game back since Feb. 21, Derek Luciano delivered a double inside the first-base bag, traveled to third on a wild pitch from Chris Greiner and touched home on a grounder off the bat of Brown.
Taylor wasted little time tying it up on his fourth homer of 2010 to right field, and Taladay kept it going by sending a fly ball to left that the wind blew back into fair territory and landed inside the line for a double. A throwing error sent him to third and Jonathan Griffin plated him on a groundout, while Duffy wrapped it up with a line-drive shot just inside the foul pole in right for the two-run advantage.
Hartford, though, kept at it in the sixth and would not let UCF hang on to the lead, scoring six times to seemingly deflate the Knights. But Friedrich sparked the Black and Gold offense when it returned to the dish, sending a single to center. That helped set up a pair of sacrifice flies as it cut the deficit in half to 9-7, only Duffy was not content with just a two-run inning. With two in scoring position and two outs, the senior ripped the first pitch into right for a single, enabling both runners to score.
Friedrich was back again for the seventh, lifting a one-out solo blast over the fence in right-center to retake the lead. And the trend of the game continued in the eighth where Amendola smashed a two-run blast to left as Hartford would score three to go ahead 12-10. That outburst was crucial since the Knights added one in the ninth and almost won it but Griffin's bid for a two-run homer with one out fell just short of the fence.
Game Two Recap
Hartford's Steve Sobocinski could not find the strike zone to open the nightcap, walking the first four batters of the game. A fielder's choice brought in the second run and a throwing error gave UCF a 3-0 lead, all without the benefit of a hit. That would change when Friedrich ripped a two-out, two-strike pitch to right for a RBI double. Eventually the bases would reload, and the Black and Gold would send a total of 14 batters to the plate in a 10-run inning.
The Hawks also would capitalize on miscues, putting up three on the scoreboard in the second. Yet Duffy provided more energy in the third, cranking a two-out, two-run blast the opposite way to left to make it 12-3. Hartford did bring in two unearned runs in the fourth before making it a game in the fifth by way of four runs, bringing it to 12-9.
And that was when Duffy dug back in for his next at-bat. With two aboard and ahead in the count 3-1, the left-handed hitting left fielder decided to say hello to the palm trees in right-center, pushing UCF to a 15-9 cushion. The lead stretched back to 10 runs when Hartford committed three errors to allow the Knights to tally four in the sixth. They would bring in the 20th run thanks to a sac fly from Darnell Sweeney, and make it 22-9 on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ryan Breen and a RBI single by Griffin.
While the hitters were enjoying themselves, Brennan Dobbins worked an impressive outing in relief for the win. The junior pitched the last 4.0 innings, giving up just one hit, no walks and no runs while sitting down four on strikes.
After a long day in the books, the two teams will wrap up the series Sunday at 1 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.
Notes
Hartford - 2-1 Overall
UCF - 8-7 Overall
-Infielders Derek Luciano and Austin Johnston returned to the lineup in game one after the duo missed games due to injuries. It was Luciano's first appearance since opening weekend.
-Sophomore Alex Friedrich entered from the bench in game one and went on to post a career-high three hits and his first-career homer.
-Freshman Ryan Breen made his first-collegiate start in game two, batting sixth and doing the catching. He notched two hits and stole two bases.
-Chris Duffy posted a home-run in three-consecutive games for the second time in his career. The last time he homered in three-straight was when he was a freshman in 2007.
-Duffy's two homers in the second contest was the sixth time he posted two in a game.
-Freshman Joe Rogers opened the year as the UCF closer, but started game two and struck out four in 2.1 innings, surrendering one earned run.
-The last time UCF scored at least 20 runs in a game was in its 29-9 win over UAB April 24, 2009.
-The 22 runs were the most in a non-conference game since a 23-2 win vs. Monmouth March 3, 2006.
-Every starter scored a run in game two, with the 1-4 hitters (Shane Brown, Derek Luciano, Chris Taladay and Chris Duffy) combining for 16 of UCF's 22 runs.