June 5, 2011
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By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - -Following a 16-5 victory over No. 4 Bethune-Cookman June 4, No. 2 UCF gets together with No. 3 Alabama Sunday at noon. The Crimson Tide defeated the Knights in the opening game of the Tallahassee Regional June 3, 5-3. The Black and Gold has not determined its starting pitcher as of Saturday evening.
Schedule - Tallahassee, Fla.:
Sunday - vs. Alabama - 12 p.m.
Sunday - UCF/Alabama vs. Florida State - 6 p.m.
Records:
No. 3 Seed Alabama - 34-27 Overall, 14-16 SEC
No. 2 Seed UCF - 39-22 Overall, 12-12 C-USA
Stadium:
Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium (6,700)
Series:
UCF Leads, 6-5
Live Coverage:
740-AM, UCFAthletics.com and Seminoles.com
Multimedia Notes
-The winner of the UCF-Alabama tilt will battle No. 1 Florida State Sunday at 6 p.m.
-If game seven is needed, it will be Monday at 6 p.m.
-Every game this weekend 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.
-As of Saturday night, there will not be live video available for the UCF-Alabama game.
-Sunday night's contest involving FSU will air on Fox Sports Florida, while Monday's possible game seven will be televised by Sun Sports.
-The Knights are 6-1 this year when appearing on TV.
Upcoming Opponent
-Holding a 6-9 record since the calendar turned to May, Alabama is 34-27 on the year after defeating UCF Friday, 5-3, only to drop a 9-5 decision to Florida State Saturday.
-Third baseman Brett Booth has totaled five hits this weekend, and the Crimson Tide have 26 hits in their first two games. However right fielder Andrew Miller is 0-for-7 in the Tallahassee Regional.
-Alabama will start its closer, senior lefty Jonathan Smart, who owns a 4-3 record with 11 saves and a 2.53 ERA. Smart pitched the final 2.0 innings vs. UCF Friday, giving up one run on three hits.
The Series
-UCF had a four-game winning streak over Alabama before the Crimson Tide topped the Knights Friday.
-Alabama's Nathan Kilcrease went 7.0 innings for the win, while the Tide outhit the Knights, 14-7.
-The Knights lead in the all-time series, 6-5.
Notes from UCF's 16-5 Win Over B-CU
-It was UCF's first NCAA Tournament victory since defeating Florida State, 7-5, June 6, 2004.
-Jonathan Griffin moved into a tie for seventh in the NCAA this year with his 19th homer.
-When Ryan Breen walked to start the fifth, UCF ended a span of 17-straight innings where it did not put the leadoff man aboard (streak started May 27 vs. Rice).
-UCF had not committed more than one error in a game since two miscues vs. Houston May 1 (a span of 16 games). But the Knights had two errors Saturday.
-The eight-run seventh inning was the biggest inning in an NCAA Tournament game in school history. It also matched an overall postseason record as UCF scored eight runs in an Atlantic Sun Tournament game vs. Centenary in 1996.
-UCF set a school record for most runs in an NCAA Tournament contest, and tied the school mark with 20 hits (also had 20 vs. Princeton May 25, 2001). The Knights posted at least 20 hits in a game for the second time this year (20 at UAB May 15).
-Griffin tied a school record for RBI in an NCAA Tournament game with five.
What a Difference 24 Hours Make
-In their first NCAA Tournament game June 3 vs. Alabama, the No. 2-5 hitters of Beau Taylor, D.J. Hicks, Jonathan Griffin and Derek Luciano combined for just one hit, no RBI and no runs.
-A day later vs. Bethune-Cookman, the quartet was 13-for-21 with 11 RBI, 11 runs and five extra-base hits.
-Hicks and Griffin each produced four of those hits.
Useless Stat of the Day
-UCF has a 39-0 record when it outscores its opponent.
More on UCF's 3-4 Hitters
-When you put D.J. Hicks and Jonathan Griffin together, you get a 12-foot-11, 490-pound beast. And individually, they each have been hitting like that kind of monster too.
-Batting third and a lefty at the plate, Hicks leads UCF with a .348 average, posting a .429 OBP with 64 RBI as the designated hitter.
-Hitting cleanup and a righty at the dish, Griffin (.341) has banged out 19 homers and 19 doubles while driving in 58 and scoring 52 runs.
-In all, the duo has combined for 32 home runs (56 percent of UCF's total) and 122 RBI (32 percent of UCF's total).
Winning the Last Three Innings
-UCF has not been outscored in the last three innings of a game since May 17 vs. Stetson (Knights still defeated the Hatters, 7-6).
-In the NCAA Tournament, the Black and Gold has outscored opponents from innings seven to nine, 15-2 (2-1 vs. Alabama and 13-1 vs. Bethune-Cookman).
-The breakdown:
Seventh inning - UCF 67, Opponents 32
Eighth inning - UCF 69, Opponents 43
Ninth inning - UCF 25, Opponents 13
Total - UCF 161, Opponents 88