May 18, 2011
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By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Victorious in its last five outings, UCF closes out the regular season at home vs. Marshall Thursday-Saturday. The Knights (34-19, 10-11) are No. 18 in Wednesday's RPI report, and are hoping to lock down a high seed for next week's C-USA Championship presented by Trustmark in Pearl, Miss.
Schedule:
Thursday - Orlando, Fla. - 6:30 p.m.
Friday - Orlando, Fla. - 6:30 p.m.
Saturday - Orlando, Fla. - 12 p.m.
Records:
Marshall - 19-29 Overall, 6-15 C-USA
UCF - 34-19 Overall, 10-11 C-USA
Stadium:
Jay Bergman Field (2,230)
Series:
Marshall Leads, 10-5
Live Coverage:
740-AM, UCFAthletics.com and Twitter.com/UCF_Baseball
Festivities During the Marshall Series
-It will be a "Salute to Champions" series as some of UCF's C-USA championship coaches, George O'Leary (football), Greg Brown (women's basketball) and Caryl Smith Gilbert (track and field), will be honored in game one, and Amanda Cromwell (women's soccer) will be the featured coach in game two Friday at 6:30 p.m.
-The series finale will be Senior Day at the park with first pitch set for noon. A total of 10 seniors will be honored prior to the game.
-UCF Dugout Club members Carson and Buddy Hall will be recognized as well Thursday for their support and work on the Stadium Expansion Committee.
-Saturday is your last chance to pick up the complete set of 2011 UCF baseball trading cards.
-Saturday Family 4 Pack - Four tickets, four dogs, four drinks and four popcorns for $40
Upcoming Opponent
-Marshall has been a little unlucky recently in C-USA play, and almost every game has gone down to wire. The Thundering Herd own a 19-29 overall record and is 6-15 in league play.
-The Herd lost the first two games at league-leading Southern Miss by a combined three runs, won two of three at Memphis, lost two games by one run each vs. ECU and barely dropped a series to Tulane last weekend.
-Holding a 4-16 record away from home, Marshall is led by All-C-USA candidate Kenny Socorro who has a .351 average for a team with 36 homers and 71 stolen bases.
-The rotation for the UCF series features freshman righty Aaron Blair Thursday, and he has a 1-3 record with a 3.26 ERA in six starts.
The Series
-Marshall leads the series 10-5, and is 9-1 in the last 10 meetings with the Knights.
C-USA Standings
-At 10-11, UCF is in a tie for fifth with Tulane and Memphis, and only one game out of third place (East Carolina, Houston).
-Southern Miss and Rice are battling each other this weekend for the regular-season crown, while UAB already has the No. 8 seed locked up. Marshall is the odd team out of this year's C-USA Championship.
-UCF's highest finish since joining the league was seventh in 2008.
-With one victory vs. Marshall, the Knights will set a school record for most C-USA wins in a season.
Erik the Viking
-According to "IMDb," Erik the Viking gathers warriors from his village and sets out on a dangerous journey.
-That is pretty much what is happening with Erik Hempe these days.
-The junior right fielder was hitting .214 in mid-March, quickly moved it up to .333 in early April, but fell back to .288 May 1.
-As UCF started to make its final drive to the postseason, Hempe wanted to lead the way, and is now hitting .323 on the season with at least two hits in five of the Knights' last nine contests.
-In Hempe's last three games, he is 10-for-15 with four doubles and two homers. That includes three doubles and a two-run jack in a 7-6 win at Stetson May 17.
Recording Some Impressive Wins
-C-USA has posted 11 wins over non-conference teams in the top-25 of the latest RPI report.
-And UCF has five of those victories, or 45 percent of the league's top-25 wins.
-The Knights also have three of C-USA's seven wins over top-10 programs.
-Those triumphs include: two vs. No. 2 Florida, one vs. No. 4 Florida State and two against No. 22 Stetson.
NCAA Rankings
-Entering the week, UCF sits in ninth in the country with a .978 fielding percentage, and is 11th in doubles, 22nd in homers, 23rd in hits and 27th in runs.
-With 14, Jonathan Griffin ranks 16th individually in home runs and Ronnie Richardson is 11th in HBP (18).
Playing the Right Way When it Counts the Most
-UCF has not committed an error in eight-straight games, and in 77.2 innings overall dating back to the second inning at South Florida May 3.
-There is no NCAA record listed for consecutive games without an error, but the MLB record is 18 set by the New York Yankees in 2009.
-UCF owns a .978 fielding percentage, and if the season ended today that would be a single-season record, surpassing the .973 percentage set by the 2001 Knights.
Piling Up the Ws
-UCF's win at Stetson May 17 was its 34th of the season, which marks the most in three years under head coach Terry Rooney and the most overall since the 2005 squad went 42-18.
-The Black and Gold's current five-game winning streak is its longest since it opened 2011 5-0.
Useless Stat of the Day
-Closer Joe Rogers has four saves in day games and four saves in night games.
Keeping it Above .300
-UCF's team batting average dipped to .299 May 14 at UAB. It was the first time since the end of the 2009 season that its average dropped below .300.
-But since then, the Knights collected 20 hits the next day at UAB and had 14 more at Stetson May 17 to push it back to .305.