April 11, 2011
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By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - It will be a four-game road trip this week when UCF travels to Florida Atlantic Tuesday with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m. The Knights will then scoot off to East Carolina to resume the C-USA schedule Friday-Sunday.
Schedule:
Tuesday vs. Florida Atlantic - Boca Raton, Fla. - 6:30 p.m.
Records:
Florida Atlantic - 19-13 Overall, 7-5 Sun Belt
UCF - 21-11 Overall, 3-6 C-USA
Stadium:
FAU Baseball Stadium (2,00)
Series:
UCF leads 37-25
Live Coverage:
UCFAthletics.com (Gametracker Only) and Twitter.com/UCF_Baseball
Upcoming Opponent
-After losing five-straight, Florida Atlantic took down South Alabama in Mobile Saturday and Sunday to improve its record to 19-13 on the year (7-5 Sun Belt).
-With Alex Hudak (.439, .508 OBP) leading the way, the Owls have a .297 team average this year.
-On the mound, FAU carries a 4.64 ERA with just 90 walks in 281.0 innings.
The Series
-Due to a rainout, UCF and FAU played just once in 2010 with the Knights taking a 14-3 win in Boca Raton. That was the first meeting between the two clubs since 2005 when they were members of the Atlantic Sun.
-Overall, the Black and Gold leads the series 37-25.
A Wild Week
-All four games April 5-10 came down to the last at-bat with UCF picking up a win at No. 4 Florida and in the series finale vs. Tulane.
-Darnell Sweeney's two-out, two-run double in the top of the ninth gave the Knights a 4-3 victory.
-In games one and two with Tulane, the Knights got the winning run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth but were unable to convert.
-However in the finale, UCF erased a 7-0 deficit, highlighted by a four-run ninth inning where Derek Luciano and Travis Shreve produced RBI singles before D.J. Hicks crushed a two-run walk-off single to right.
-It was the first walk-off victory for UCF since Chris Duffy's ninth-inning single vs. Jacksonville May 11, 2010.
I Like Taters
-Senior first baseman Jonathan Griffin crushed a home run in every game of the Tulane series, marking the second time in his two-year UCF career that he hit a homer in three-straight games.
-Griffin (3), Ryan Breen (1), Erik Hempe (1), Derek Luciano (1) and D.J. Hicks (1) all hit long balls during the week of April 5-10 as the Knights have put two balls over the wall in each of the past four contests.
-Griffin and Hicks now are tied for the team lead with seven taters, while Hempe and Luciano each have three.
Adding to the Win Column
-Holding an 18-5 record in non-conference games, UCF is hitting .313 in non-league contests with Darnell Sweeney leading the way at .360.
-The pitchers have walked just 49 batters in 207.0 innings, striking out 199.
Getting the Job Done on the Road
-Derek Luciano is hitting .412 in away games, followed by Ronnie Richardson who owns a .407 average with three triples.
A Good Month for Shreve
-When the calendar switched to April, Travis Shreve took off and is now hitting .455 (10-for-22) with a .478 on-base percentage this month.
-Shreve now leads UCF on the year with a .357 average.
Not Letting Up
-Even with batting averages down across the nation due to the new bats, three Knights have certainly not been affected.
-Jonathan Griffin has raised his average from .299 to .328, D.J. Hicks hit .301 in 2009 and as a redshirt sophomore he now owns a .342 mark and Ronnie Richardson has improved his average from .297 to .333.
Consistent Anywhere in the Lineup
-Travis Shreve spent the first half of the season as UCF's leadoff man, but after taking his first day off at Florida April 5, he was back to work vs. Tulane April 8.
-Against the Green Wave, the second baseman was moved to the No. 9 hole for the first time and promptly went 3-for-4 with a double and a run.
-One day later, Shreve went 2-for-3 before going 3-for-4 in the finale. In all, he was 8-for-11 for a .727 average in the series with Tulane.
Useless Stat of the Day
-The Knights have drawn three walks in each of the past five games.