April 1, 2011
| UCF vs. Southern Miss April 1, 2011 |
| From Orlando, Fla. | |||||
| Team | R | H | E | ||
| Southern Miss | 6 | 9 | 2 | ||
| UCF | 5 | 12 | 5 | ||
WP: Cargill (3-1), 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
LP: Adkins (4-2), 3.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
SV: None
Game-Changing Moment
Immediately following the eighth inning where UCF tied it up at 3-3 on an error, Marc Bourgeois dealt a huge blow to UCF in the ninth with a three-run homer. The Knights would score two in the bottom of the ninth, but that was as close as they would get.
Three Stars
First: USM DH Marc Bourgeois, 3-for-5, 3 RBI, HR
Second: UCF 3B Derek Luciano, 2-for-4, 2 2B, RBI, R
Third: USM RHP Todd McInnis, 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Saturday Preview in PDF Format
By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Tied at 3-3 in the top of the ninth, Marc Bourgeois delivered a three-run homer and No. 20 Southern Miss held off No. 23 UCF's rally in the Golden Eagles' 6-5 victory Friday. The loss in their Conference USA home opener dropped the Knights' record to 19-7 on the year and 2-2 in league play.
"We battled back right to the very end, and we had the tying and winning run on base (in the ninth). So I was proud of the way we battled," said head coach Terry Rooney. "And I thought overall Ben Lively did an awesome job. We had a freshman right-hander in there on a Friday night and he did an unbelievable job."
Lively did not get a decision after winning his first-five collegiate starts, but he finished with 5.2 innings, two strikeouts and three runs against. His record for the year remained at 5-0.
UCF outhit Southern Miss (20-5, 3-1), 12-9, with Jonathan Griffin banging out three hits of his own and Derek Luciano coming through with a pair of doubles..
Averaging less than an error a game this year, the Knights committed three miscues in the first inning alone but Lively escaped by getting Bourgeois to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Conversely, the Knights had a major chance to blow things open in the fourth when they loaded the bases on three infield singles with one away. Righty Todd McInnis wasted little time ending the threat by earning a 6-3 double play with Beau Taylor at the dish.
By not scoring in the fourth, UCF lost its chance to seize momentum and Southern Miss capitalized in the fifth when Kameron Brunty crushed a two-run homer to right. One inning later and the Golden Eagles pushed it to 3-0 on a RBI groundout from Chase Fowler.
With just five hits through six innings, the Knights opened the seventh with a double into the right-center gap by Griffin and a bunt single laid down by Taylor. Ryan Breen then dug in and even though he fell behind 0-2, he was able to drive in Griffin on a fielder's choice. Now trailing 3-1, the Knights used a hit-and-run to cut it to 3-2 as Luciano brought around Breen with a double down the line in right.
UCF's second run in the seventh forced USM to the pen for Chase Horn, who immediately surrendered a hard single to Ronnie Richardson. With one out and runners at the corners, Travis Shreve grounded back to the mound and Darnell Sweeney bounced one in front of the plate for a 2-3 putout as the Knights left the tying run on base with one down.
The Knights would have the same situation in the eighth, putting the tying run at third thanks to a double out of D.J. Hicks and a wild pitch from closer Collin Cargill. Eventually with two outs, Taylor grounded a routine ball to short but B.A. Vollmuth booted it, permitting Hicks to touch home.
Now a brand new ballgame at 3-3, Bourgeois changed that with his three-run blast off Brian Adkins in the ninth. UCF would make it interesting in the bottom half by putting the first two aboard, and another wild pitch allowed Luciano to scamper home. With Richardson at third and one down, Sweeney sent a groundout to second to make it 6-5. Although the bases were now empty and two outs were on the scoreboard, an error and walk to Hicks put the tying and winning runs on, only Cargill preserved the win for the Golden Eagle by inducing Griffin to ground into a fielder's choice.
The two clubs will get back to work Saturday with game two set for 4 p.m.
Game Notes
No. 20 Southern Miss - 20-5 Overall, 3-1 C-USA
No. 23 UCF - 19-7 Overall, 2-2 C-USA
-The road team has won each of the last seven meetings between UCF and Southern Miss.
-UCF had won 16-straight games when it posted at least 10 hits, but that streak was snapped Friday after it collected 12 hits.
-UCF finished with a season-high five errors in the field.
-All of the Knights' five runs were scored in the final three innings.
-The Knights are now 4-3 against ranked teams this season.