April 6, 2013
UCF Athletics Social Media Directory
By Eric DeSalvo
UCFAthletics.com
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (UCFAthletics.com) - Needing a victory on Saturday to even the series with Memphis, the UCF baseball team was unable to overcome its own miscues in a 5-2 loss at FedEx Park. The Knights (18-14, 4-4) will look to get in the win column Sunday with the series finale scheduled for 2 p.m. EDT.
In the loss, lefty Chris Matulis saw his record drop to 3-2 with his second defeat as a Knight this week. It was a rough day as a whole for the pitching staff as it was charged with three errors, seven walks, two wild pitches and a hit batsman.
Memphis rode starter Erik Schoenrock's six innings of work to the win as the lefty surrendered two runs on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts.
Just like on Friday, UCF took an early lead, this time via the longball as leftfielder Erik Barber (1-for-4, 1 RBI) smashed his first-career homer on a 2-2 pitch well over the left-field fence in the first inning. The solo shot made Barber the eighth Knight to go yard in 2013.
UCF quickly made it 2-0 as DH Bo Decker (1-for-4, 1 R), battling fifth, led-off the second frame with his first-career double. He was moved to third on a James Vasquez (1-for-4) grounder to the right side before shortstop Tommy Williams (1-for2, 1 RBI) sent a sacrifice fly to centerfield to plate Decker.
That would be all the scoring on the day for the Knights as Memphis got back in the game with a pair of runs in the third on bases-loaded fielding error by Matulis followed by a sacrifice fly. The Tigers (17-13, 4-4) would take the lead for good on an RBI single by Zach Willis in the fourth to knock Matulis out of the game.
UCF had its chances to get back in the contest, having the lead-off man reach in five of the final seven innings after scoring in the first two frames.
In the seventh, UCF stranded Williams at third with no outs, and the Tigers would make the Knights pay in the bottom-half of the frame by plating a run on a failed pick-off attempt and a wild pitch. Memphis closer Jonathan Van Eaton converted his fifth save of the year, inducing the second UCF double play of the day to end the game.
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.