Feb. 22, 2015
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By Nate Blythe
UCFKnights.com
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MOBILE, Ala. (UCFKnights.com) - No. 22 UCF earned a 7-5 win over the host Jaguars on Sunday afternoon to clinch a three-game sweep at the South Alabama Invitational. The Knights needed sophomore Trent Thompson to come on and registered the final two outs for his first save of the season after the Jaguars had at the potential game-tying run at first base.
"I told our guys that it is a long season, but they have a lot to be proud of. They did a terrific job in defeating three outstanding teams (No. 15 Arkansas, No. 11 Maryland, South Alabama)," head coach Terry Rooney said. "We held on, played with a lot of confidence and had a lot of clutch pitching and hitting. No matter what the situation was these guys really picked each other up."
Sophomore righty Robby Howell went 6.1 innings to earn his second win of the season. The Fort White, Fla., native tallied a pair of strikeouts and only allowed two runs to cross the plate.
A two hit and three RBI contest was tallied by freshman second baseman Kyle Marsh, who notched a pair of run-scoring singles in the third and fifth inning to put the Knights on top. Senior first baseman James Vasquez tallied his first multi-hit game of the campaign.
After the Jaguars knotted the contest in the third frame, freshman catcher Logan Heiser connected on a solo homer to give UCF the lead on the very first pitch in the fourth. It was the second homer in as many games for the Jupiter, Fla., native.
UCF increased its lead to 4-2 in the eighth on an opposite field homer by senior outfielder Erik Barber. The Lakeland, Fla., native trotted around the bases for the second time during the weekend.
Senior outfielder JoMarcos Woods made another outstanding catch for the Knights to start the bottom of the frame. The Lakeland, Fla., native was in foul territory and made a diving catch, navigating the pitcher's mound and bench to make the first out. Junior Harrison Hukari ended the frame to finish the contest with 1.2 innings of work.
The Knights tacked on three more runs in the ninth inning on a double by Woods and a sacrifice fly from Marsh before sophomore designated hitter Matt Diorio drew a bases loaded walk.
In the bottom-half of the inning, South Alabama touched up the Knights for four hits and scored three times before Thompson induced a fly out and strikeout to end the contest.
Notes
-The Knights swept the South Alabama Invitational with a 9-5 win over No. 15 Arkansas, 7-6 victory over No. 11 Maryland and a 7-5 win over the host Jaguars.
-UCF recorded 11 hits and has reached double digits in that category in each of the past six games.
-Heiser recorded a homer for the second time in as many games.
-With the win by Howell, each starter for UCF this season has notched the victory.
-Marsh drove in three runs on a pair of hits for the Knights. He has three multi-hit and three multi-RBI games this year.
-Woods scored three times and picked up three hits.
-Thompson notched his sixth career save and first this season.
After traveling to Bethune-Cookman on Wednesday at 6 p.m., the Knights return home on Feb. 27-Mar. 1 and welcome No. 18 Ole Miss to the UCF Baseball Complex. Be sure to purchase tickets ahead of time to guarantee a seat to watch this top-25 matchup.
Season and single-game tickets for the 2015 baseball season are currently on sale by clicking here or calling 407-823-1000. A general admission seat to all 32 homes games can be purchased for $75. There are also reserved and chairback seating at the UCF Baseball Complex.