April 5, 2013
UCF Athletics Social Media Directory
By Eric DeSalvo
UCFAthletics.com
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (UCFAthletics.com) - In a pitcher's duel between UCF's Ben Lively and Memphis' Sam Moll, the Knights (18-13, 4-3) were unable to open the series against the Tigers (16-13, 3-4) in the win column, falling 2-1 Friday night from FedEx Park.
Tossing a complete game, Lively saw his record fall to 5-3 on the year after surrendering a pair of earned runs in the third inning. Overall, the Gulf Breeze native scattered six hits and two walks while striking out five. Despite the earned runs, Lively's ERA still sits at 0.61 in 59 1/3 innings of work.
UCF, totaling just four hits on the night, struck first in the second inning as sophomore first baseman James Vasquez (1-for-4, 1 RBI) connected on a 2-2 hanging breaking ball and ripped it to right-field wall for an RBI double. He drove in senior third baseman Chris Taladay (1-for-4) from first after he notched career-hit No. 241, tying him with Clay Timpner for eighth all-time on the UCF hit list.
Memphis would answer back in the third, scoring its only two runs on a pair of wild pitches after back-to-back singles led-off the frame.
Lively would respond in a big way, facing the minimum of three batters in four of the final five innings he pitched, including a stellar 1-4-3 double play to end the fifth.
The Knights' bats weren't able to pick up their ace due to the strong outing of Moll. The junior lefty finished the night with seven innings, four hits, two walks and struck out 11. Right-hander Heith Hatfield closed out the final two frames with four punch outs of his own.
Game two in the series will take place Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. EDT with redshirt senior Chris Matulis getting the start after going eight innings in his last two weekend appearances. All of the action from FedEx Park can be heard on Stretch Internet radio with pregame beginning at 2:45.
Ten Voucher packages are now on sale for only $50. Select the games that you want to attend for a discounted price. Voucher packages and single-game tickets can be purchased by calling 407-UCF-1000 or visit the baseball tickets page. Stay up-to-date on all the latest news by visiting UCFAthletics.com and following the team on Twitter (@UCF_Baseball) and Facebook.