May 17, 2010
By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com
Orlando, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - We've already arrived at the final home game of the 2010 season as the Knights host Florida Atlantic Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. It will be the fans' last chance to see seniors Shane Brown, Chris Duffy, Matt Goodyear, Matt Manning and Cory Weech in a Black and Gold uniform at home.
Schedule:
Tuesday vs. Florida Atlantic - Orlando, Fla. - 6:30 p.m.
Records:
FAU - 31-19 Overall, 19-8 Sun Belt
UCF - 31-21 Overall, 8-13 C-USA
Stadium:
Jay Bergman Field (2,230)
Series:
UCF leads, 37-25
Live Stats and Video:
UCFAthletics.com
Radio:
UCFAthletics.com and 740-AM (Marc Daniels on the Call)
UCF vs. ECU Series Recap
-UCF hit .356 as a team as it went 1-2 against East Carolina last weekend.
-Shane Brown hit .545 with seven RBI, while Chris Duffy drove in six and Jonathan Griffin went yard twice.
-Junior Nick Cicio capped off the series with a complete-game three-hitter in a seven-inning 14-1 win in the finale.
Upcoming Opponent
-With an RPI in the mid-30s, Florida Atlantic has lost only one Sun Belt series this year en route to a 31-19 overall record and a 19-8 conference mark.
-The Owls are hitting .308 as a team, and are led by Andy Mee's .396 average at the dish. Dan Scheffler also is producing with 14 homers and a .393 BA.
-A solid defensive team (.974 FLD%), FAU carries a 4.81 team ERA on the mound.
The Series
-Tuesday will be FAU's first trip to face UCF in Orlando since 2005 when both schools were members of the Atlantic Sun.
-The two clubs met in Boca Raton May 4 this year, with UCF claiming a 14-3 win to take a 37-25 all-time lead.
The Way
-The Knights are searching for their 32nd overall victory this year. Along with the 31 wins by the 2008 squad, those are the most by a UCF team dating back to 2005 when it compiled 42 wins in its last season in the Atlantic Sun.
Genie in a Bottle
-UCF has never witnessed a season in which two players both finished with batting averages above .400.
-That may soon change, as Chris Duffy (.436) and Shane Brown (.423) are each putting up insane numbers this season.
-Duffy ranks first in C-USA in batting average, OPS and RBI, as well as second in slugging, hits and total bases.
-Meanwhile Brown owns first place in HBP, second in OBP and doubles and third in batting average.
My Name Is
-Third baseman Chris Taladay certainly is making a run at C-USA Freshman of the Year.
-The Windermere native ranks first among all C-USA freshmen in batting average, hits, doubles, homers, total bases, slugging and OPS.
-He also is in the top five in at-bats, runs, RBI, HBP and OBP.
Larger Than Life
The 2010 Seniors
-Shane Brown: One of the purest hitters UCF has ever seen...Lifetime .360 hitter with 24 homers and 57 doubles.
-Chris Duffy: A sweet swing with exceptional power who ultimately will finish his career among the top home run hitters of all-time.
-Matt Goodyear: The vocal leader has appeared in 23 games in four seasons, including his career-long 4.2-inning outing earlier this week vs. JU.
-Matt Manning: Left his mark in just two years on the mound with his passion for the game and sidearm delivery...Has appeared in 20 games with four saves this year.
-Cory Weech: After joining UCF as a sophomore, appeared in 27 games last year which was the fifth most in school history...He is 4-1 lifetime as a Knight.
Tubthumping
-UCF has seven different players with at least 10 doubles, led by Shane Brown with 19.
-The last time the Knights produced a stat like that was when the 2005 squad had eight players connect for double-digit two-baggers.
-Meanwhile,UCF also has eight Knights with 20 or more walks. The last time that happened was in 1995 when it had nine players receive at least 20 free passes.
This is How We Do It
-A 2009 Freshman All-American, Beau Taylor entered 2010 as a sophomore with two promising freshmen catchers backing him up in Chris Taladay and Ryan Breen. With Taylor owning the starting job, it was not sure how much playing time the newcomers would receive. But that quickly changed.
-Taylor currently owns a .342 average, while Taladay earned the starting gig at third base en route to a .369 mark. And since Breen took advantage of early opportunities at the plate, he was locked into the designated hitter role and now hits .338 with 10 stolen bases.
-Combined, the trio has belted out 19 homers and driven in 105 runs.
-Look for all three catchers to appear in a special feature story on an upcoming edition UCF SportsKnight.
MMMBop
-(Continuing the earlier note on .400 hitters) It does not matter what level of competition. Not many players can boast a .400 batting average.
-And the Knights have two of them in Chris Duffy (.436) and Shane Brown (.423). The senior outfielders have both held batting averages above .400 at the same time for every game dating back to March 2.
-UCF is the only team in the country to have two players boast batting averages of at least .423 (New Mexico has a duo with marks of .466 and .420).
Two Princes
-Even though the Knights have a brand new infield consisting of three freshmen - 2B Austin Johnston, SS Darnell Sweeney, 3B Chris Taladay - and junior-college transfer 1B Jonathan Griffin, they are turning two at will.
-In all, the UCF defense has turned 57 double plays, which ranks among the top schools in the nation.
What's My Age Again
-As of May 17, UCF is the only school in the country to have five true freshmen make at least 35 starts in the batting order in 2010.