April 23, 2010
| UCF at Marshall April 23, 2010 |
| From Charleston, W. Va. | |||||
| Team | R | H | E | ||
| UCF | 2 | 5 | 1 | ||
| Marshall | 7 | 10 | 1 | ||
WP: Ian Kadish (2-3), 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 8 BB, 3 K
LP: Owen Dew (5-2), 3.2 IP, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
SV: None
Game-Changing Moment
UCF only trailed 2-1 in the fourth and was getting several opportunities at the plate. But when Shane Brown and Darnell Sweeney both popped up on the infield with the tying and go-ahead runs on base, the Thundering Herd made the Knights pay with five runs in the fourth inning.
Three Stars
First Star: MAR RF Ben Jurevicius, 3-for-4, 2 RBI, R
Second Star: UCF RF Shane Brown, 2-for-3, 2 HR
Third Star: MAR LF Kurt Lipton, 2-for-4, 2 RBI
By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com
Charleston, W. Va. (UCFAthletics.com) - After senior Shane Brown (Winter Park, Fla.) led off the game with his first homer of the day, UCF had numerous scoring chances but could never capitalize allowing Marshall to seize momentum and defeat the Knights 7-2 Friday in Charleston, W. Va. Brown finished 2-for-3 with two taters, giving him 22 for his career to move him into a tie for 10th on the UCF career chart.
UCF left 16 on base vs. the Thundering Herd (18-20, 7-6), including having at least two runners aboard with less than two outs in the first four stanzas yet were unable to score each time.
The two teams entered the day tied for fourth in the Conference USA standings, but the Knights fell to 26-15 on the year and 6-7 in league action.
Brown was the lone producer for the UCF offense, driving in both of its runs on solo homers, with the second coming in the eighth inning. It was the third time in his career he muscled two out of the park, while his season total improved to seven.
Although it was a 10 a.m. start, the Knights woke up thanks to Brown. Facing righty Ian Kadish, the right fielder drilled a 2-1 offering high off the video board in left center to leadoff the game with a solo homer.
The Knights could easily have broken it open in the early innings, but left two men on with one out in the first before failing to score with the bases loaded and one down in the second. In that second inning, Kadish walked three guys only to escape with an inning-ending double play.
Instead of a big UCF lead, Marshall quickly answered in the home half of the second vs. Owen Dew, loading the bases with one down en route to a pair of runs. The Black and Gold had more opportunities in the third and fourth, placing runners at first and second with one away in both frames yet could not do any damage.
With UCF having trouble converting, a solo shot by Josh Valle in the fourth set up a five-run inning, which put the game away for the Thundering Herd. Although he let in all three inherited runners, freshman reliever Brian Adkins did attempt to keep the Knights close, tossing 4.1 scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Brown wanted to give him some support with his solo blast to dead center in the eighth, but the Black and Gold's deficit was too much.
Both teams will now get ready for game two of the series Saturday at 1 p.m. (note the time change).
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
UCF - 26-15 Overall, 6-7 Conference USA
Marshall - 18-20 Overall, 7-6 Conference USA
-Away from West Virginia, former Knight Drew Butera, who is making his Major League debut this season with the Minnesota Twins, notched his first MLB hit Thursday night at home vs. Cleveland.
-Shane Brown's leadoff homer was UCF's first since Colin Arnold's leadoff blast vs. Tulane April 10, 2009.
-Junior third baseman Derek Luciano entered as a sub in the seventh inning, marking his first appearance since April 9 due to an injury.
-The Knights drew 10 walks and struck out just four times against Marshall pitching. They also were hit four times.