March 19, 2010
Final Stats
| UCF vs. Presbyterian March 19, 2010 |
| From Orlando, Fla. | |||||
| Team | R | H | E | ||
| Presbyterian | 1 | 6 | 2 | ||
| UCF | 15 | 19 | 1 | ||
WP: Owen Dew (3-1), 8.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
LP: Jesse Harmon (1-3), 5.2 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
SV: None
UCF Featured in Baseball America and ESPN Weekend Preview
Who's Streakin'
Game-Changing Moment
After Presbyterian tied it at 1-1 in the top of the third, UCF wasted little time putting the game away. Shane Brown opened the home half with a double, Derek Luciano singled and Chris Taladay drove them both in thanks to a double to right. It would eventually be a three-run inning and the Black and Gold would cruise the rest of the way.
Three Stars
First Star: UCF SP Owen Dew, WP, 8.0 innings with 7 Ks
Second Star: UCF DH Ryan Breen, 3-for-5, 3 RBI, 3 R, 2 HR
Third Star: UCF 3B Derek Luciano, 4-for-5, 3 RBI, 3 R, SB
UCF Notes for Game Two Saturday
Game Notes in PDF Format
By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com
Orlando, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The offense and pitching came together Friday in UCF's 15-1 home victory over Presbyterian College. Junior Owen Dew hurled 8.0 innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts while the Knights (11-8) banged out 19 hits vs. the Blue Hose (5-11), including freshman Ryan Breen's two home runs.
The game featured four legendary Negro League players in attendance as part of the UCF Library's Pride & Passion exhibit, who also helped throw out the first pitch: Robert "Peach Head" Mitchell (Kansas City Monarchs, 1954-57), Leon Harris (Kansas City Monarchs, 1954), Arthur Lee Hamilton (Indianapolis Clowns, 1953-54) and James "Son" Copeland (Florida State Negro League's Bradenton 9 Devils, 1953-54 and 1955-60).
"I thought Owen Dew statistically pitched alright, and to throw eight innings is tremendous," said head coach Terry Rooney. "For us to be successful as a team our starting pitchers have to go deep. Owen obviously did that tonight. And Ryan Breen is another great example of a guy who is taking advantage of the opportunity because of injuries. Ryan has kept working hard, never complains and is a great teammate. We knew he would have a role for us."
Senior Chris Duffy extended his hitting streak to a personal-best 10 games Friday, completing his evening 2-for-3 in what was his sixth-consecutive outing with at least two hits. Meanwhile he collected two RBI, pushing his season total to 37, which is already a career-high.
Just one spot ahead of him in the lineup, freshman Chris Taladay amassed five RBI, highlighted by a three-run homer. And leading a batting order that had every Knight post a hit, Derek Luciano was 4-for-5 and Breen capped off his outing 3-for-5.
After a scoreless first, base hits from Duffy and Jonathan Griffin got the second going, and Alex Friedrich came through with a single to right for the early 1-0 UCF lead. The Blue Hose responded with one in the third only to see Taladay drive in a pair on a double to right and Duffy plated him on a sac fly in the home half. Two innings later and Duffy brought around Luciano on yet another sac fly.
Now ahead 5-1, the Knights still pestered Presbyterian starting pitcher Jesse Harmon in the sixth, loading them up with nobody out. Harmon tossed in a wild pitch to score one, then retired the next two. Tim Corbin was called in from the pen for a lefty-lefty situation on Luciano, however the UCF third baseman sent a 2-0 offering into right-center, making it 8-1.
Not satisfied, Breen strode to the dish with two down in the seventh. And with his own cheering section behind him, Breen got ahead 2-0 before hammering his first-collegiate homer over the left-center wall.
The long ball continued in the eighth where the first four Knights reached base, setting up a three-run blast off the bat of Taladay. Add in Breen's second home run later in the inning and UCF returned to the locker room with a 15-1 win in its pocket.
Game two of the three-game series is set for Saturday at 4 p.m. It also will be the Pink at the Park Susan G. Komen Awareness Game as the first 250 fans will receive a free Armored in Pink T-Shirt.
Ticket plans 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
Presbyterian - 5-11 Overall
UCF - 11-8 Overall
-The UCF-ISP Sports Network and 740-AM announced that it has added UCF's game against Bethune-Cookman March 30 to the radio schedule.
-The Knights stole five bases Friday, pushing their season total to 29. That already is more than UCF's entire output from 2009.
-Ryan Breen became the third Knight this year to bang out two homers in a game, joining Derek Luciano and Chris Duffy (three times).
-UCF limited PC to just six hits, the lowest hit total by a Black and Gold opponent this season.
-The top four hitters in the lineup (Shane Brown, Derek Luciano, Chris Taladay and Chris Taladay) all notched at least two hits and scored at least two runs.