May 25, 2011
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By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com
PEARL, Miss. (UCFAthletics.com) - No. 4 seed UCF stands at 1-0 in pool play following its 16-9 victory against No. 5 Memphis Wednesday morning. The Knights now turn their attention to No. 8 UAB Thursday at 10 a.m. ET after the Blazers stunned top-seed Rice, 9-8.
Schedule - Pearl, Miss.:
Wednesday - vs. No. 5 Memphis - W, 16-9
Thursday - vs. No. 8 UAB - 10 a.m. ET
Friday - vs. No. 1 Rice - 1:30 p.m. ET
Saturday - Championship Game - 8 p.m. ET
Records:
No. 8 UAB - 29-26 Overall, 9-15 C-USA
No. 4 UCF - 37-20 Overall, 12-12 C-USA
Stadium:
Trustmark Park (8,480)
Series:
Tied, 9-9
Live Coverage:
CSS/Bright House Sports Network, 740-AM, UCFAthletics.com and Twitter.com/UCF_Baseball
Multimedia Coverage
-Every game this week is scheduled to air on 740-AM in Orlando with Marc Daniels on the call. Links and live stats will be available at UCFAthletics.com.
-Thursday's tilt against UAB will air on Bright House Sports Network.
-Saturday's championship game will be televised by CBS Sports Network.
Upcoming Opponent
-UAB delivered the tournament's biggest surprise on the first day with a 9-8 win vs. Rice. The Blazers led 9-1 at one point before holding off a furious rally by the Owls to move their record to 29-26 on the year. It was UAB's third win over Rice this season.
-Jamal Austin (.355) paces a team that has a .269 average with just 18 homers but 73 sac bunts and 67 stolen bases.
-Junior righty Dillon Napoleon is slated to start for the Blazers on the hill, and he carries a 5-2 record with a 2.69 ERA, holding opponents to a .224 average in 77.0 innings.
The Series
-UCF tied the series at 9-9 with UAB by taking all three games in Birmingham this year.
-This will be the first time the two teams will have met in the postseason.
-The Knights hit .353 as a team and did not commit an error in the regular-season series at UAB. Starting pitcher Danny Winkler tossed 6.1 shutout innings in game two (UCF won 9-0 in 10 innings).
A Huge Beginning
-Leaving only five runners on base, UCF led 9-3 before breaking a 9-9 tie en route to a 16-9 victory over Memphis in the first game of the C-USA tournament.
-The 16 runs were the most in a postseason game since May 16, 2001, when the Knights topped Troy, 18-1, in the Atlantic Sun Tournament.
-UCF's previous record for runs in a C-USA Championship game was six.
E.H. Stands for Exuberant Hitter
-Erik Hempe is on an eight-game hitting streak which includes four of his seven home runs this year.
-During that stetch, he has improved his average from .286 to .324, while also collecting 12 RBI.
Moving Up is Paying Off
-Ronnie Richardson has been in the leadoff spot in the order for the last nine games, and overall he is hitting .333 with 14 runs from the No. 1 hole this year.
-The sophomore holds a .472 on-base percentage when he serves as the leadoff man.
-And Beau Taylor has crushed the ball from the No. 2 hole. He was in the lineup for the first time in that spot vs. Bethune-Cookman May 11 and in the nine games since, he has a .447 average with nine RBI and 12 runs.
Sedlock Locks In
-Senior lefty Johnny Sedlock continues to impress as a reliever this year, holding a 2.12 ERA with a 3-0 record and two saves.
-He has at least one strike out in all 14 appearances, walking only three total in 29.2 innings, and has not allowed more than two runs to score in a game all year.
-Sedlock entered in a high-scoring game vs. Memphis in the C-USA Championship May 25 and proceeded to toss the final 4.2 innings with just one run against for the 16-9 victory.
C-USA Postseason Awards
-UCF locked up four C-USA awards this week:
Sr. 1B Jonathan Griffin - All-C-USA First Team
RS So. DH D.J. Hicks - All-C-USA Second Team
Fr. RHP Ben Lively - C-USA All-Freshman Team
Sr. 3B Derek Luciano - C-USA All-Academic Team
UCF in the C-USA Championship
-The Knights are 2-6 all-time in the C-USA Championship. Below are their full results:
2007 - Greenville, N.C.
No. 1 Rice def. No. 8 UCF, 16-6
No. 8 UCF def. No. 4 Houston, 1-0
No. 5 Memphis def. No. 8 UCF, 12-6
2008 - New Orleans, La.
No. 2 Southern Miss def. No. 7 UCF, 8-5
No. 3 Tulane def. No. 7 UCF, 5-2
2009 - Hattiesburg, Miss.
No. 1 East Carolina def. No. 8 UCF, 6-3
No. 4 Tulane def. No. 8 UCF, 7-3
2011 - Pearl, Miss.
No. 4 UCF def. No. 5 Memphis, 16-9