March 22, 2011
| UCF vs. Miami March 22, 2011 |
| From Coral Gables, Fla. | |||||
| Team | R | H | E | ||
| UCF | 1 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Miami | 4 | 6 | 0 | ||
WP: Ewing (2-1), 7.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 12 K
LP: Adkins (3-1), 6.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
SV: Robinson (3), 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Game-Changing Moment
With one out in the sixth inning and UCF ahead 1-0, Brian Adkins gave up a grand slam to Michael Broad and that would be the only time the Hurricanes would score in the game.
Three Stars
First: UM Steven Ewing, WP, 7.1 IP, 12 K
Second: UM 2B, Michael Broad, 1-for-3, GS
Third: UM Bullpen, 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - UCF carried a 1-0 lead into the sixth inning before giving up a grand slam to Michael Broad and No. 29 Miami (13-8) got past the Knights, 4-1, Tuesday in Coral Gables. The Black and Gold will now take a 16-5 record into the Conference USA schedule where it travels to No. 23 Rice this weekend.
Entering Tuesday ranked eighth in the nation in walks per nine innings, Brian Adkins faced off with high school teammate Steven Ewing, as both sophomore lefties pitched for University High School in Orlando. But it was Ewing who was on the winning end, striking out 12 in 7.1 innings. Adkins finished with 6.0 innings of work, walking two, striking out three and giving up four runs on six hits.
Pesky leadoff man Travis Shreve greeted Ewing right away by driving the first pitch of the game into center for a base hit. Following a sac bunt from Ronnie Richardson, Shreve stole his 18th base of the year to get to third with one down only to have Darnell Sweeney strike out looking and Chris Taladay pop out in foul ground.
After UCF wasted a chance to seize momentum early, Derek Luciano needed just one swing of the bat to get UCF on the board, leading off the third inning with a homer over the right-field wall. It was his second long ball of the season.
With both pitchers cruising, it was not until the bottom of the sixth when Miami put a major scoring chance together, getting two runners aboard with one out. Adkins then faced cleanup hitter Harold Martinez who singled to load the bases, and that set up a no-doubt grand slam off the bat of Broad.
While Ewing was fooling UCF batters all night long, the Knights hoped to have an answer for the grand slam in the top of the seventh where Jonathan Griffin and D.J. Hicks led off with base hits. However the Canes' southpaw eventually escaped when Ryan Breen hit into an inning-ending double play.
That would be the last opportunity for the Knights as they completed the evening trailing in hits, 6-5.
The difficult road trip continues for the Knights when they open up the Conference USA schedule at No. 25 Rice Friday-Sunday. Their next home game will be Tuesday, March 29, against No. 28 Stetson, and it will be Pink at the Park day as the first 250 fans will receive a free T-shirt to help spread awareness of breast cancer.
Game Notes
UCF - 16-5 Overall
Miami - 13-8 Overall
-The NCAA released its first national statistics report Tuesday and UCF was the only team in the country ranked in the top-25 in batting average, ERA and fielding percentage.
-Junior righty Danny Winkler, who had made five-straight Friday-night starts this year, entered from the bullpen for the first time in 2011 Tuesday night. He would strike out two in a perfect seventh inning.
-UCF's offense struck out 15 times, the most they had since striking out 15 times at Rice April 26, 2008.
-With Brian Adkins being served the loss, it was the first time all year that a UCF starting pitcher was credited with a loss in 2011. The starters were previously 12-0.