Dec. 26, 2011
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By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - As the final days of 2011 fade away and 2012 approaches, we here at UCFAthletics.com want to look back at the best moments of the past year and honor arguably the most significant 12 months in school history.
No. 10 Moment
No. 9 Moment
No. 8 Moment
No. 7 Moment
Here is a breakdown of the No. 6 moment of 2011 for UCF Athletics:
MOMENT: Baseball sweeps Florida
DATES: April 5 in Gainesville and April 20 in Orlando
SITES: Florida's McKethan Stadium, UCF's Jay Bergman Field
SIGNIFICANCE: UCF posted its first sweep of at least two games against Florida since 1990. Attendance for the 8-6 victory at UCF was a record 3,601 fans. That broke the previous record of 2,758 vs. Florida March 18, 2009. UCF went on to reach the NCAA Regionals for the first time since 2004.
WHAT HAPPENED: On April 5, Darnell Sweeney lifted the Knights to a 4-3 road victory by drilling a two-out, two-run double to center in the top of the ninth. And on April 20, the Knights scored seven two-out runs to jump out to an 8-0 lead and held off a late rally for the 8-6 win in Orlando. They used seven pitchers in all, and kept Florida to just two hits in the first seven innings. The Gators, who finished 53-19 and were the national runner-ups, were ranked No. 1 in RPI each time when the Knights beat them.
THEY SAID IT: ``Obviously, Florida had that big (ninth) inning, but at the end of the day, look at the poise it took for our guys to hold on there at the end,'' UCF head coach Terry Rooney said following the April 20 victory. ``To hold on against a top five team in the country shows a tremendous amount of poise and confidence in these guys. Obviously, it was another great win and a great atmosphere.''