March 28, 2015
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By Nate Blythe
UCFKnights.com
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ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - No. 6 UCF used four homers and freshman righty Cre Finfrock delivered seven solid innings to produce a 9-2 victory over No. 15 Houston in the American Athletic Conference opener for both teams Friday at the UCF Baseball Complex.
Senior right fielder JoMarcos Woods connected on two of those homers and drove in a career-best four runs for the Knights (21-6, 1-0 The American).
"We talk a lot about responding when another team scores. Tonight, they hit homers in each of the first two innings," assistant coach Kevin Schnall said. "In both innings, we responded and that is a big way for our offense to help out our pitching staff. We are one team and it all started with Cre."
Finfrock (6-0) allowed just three hits of which two were homers in his quality start vs. the Cougars (18-8, 0-1 The American). The Jensen Beach, Fla., native used first-pitch strikes to get ahead in the count on 21 of 27 batters he faced.
The contest was finished by senior lefty Harrison Hukari, who notched four strikeouts in two innings of work.
The Cougars started the scoring with a solo home run blasted by Chris Iriart to the right of center in the first.
UCF responded in a big way to bring the crowd to its feet with back-to-back homers by freshman second baseman Kyle Marsh and senior left fielder Tommy Williams. A single by sophomore designated hitter Matt Diorio and a double tallied by senior right fielder Erik Barber continued the rally before senior first baseman James Vasquez put the Knights up 3-1 on a sac fly to center.
The ball kept flying out of Jay Bergman Field as Connor Wong connected on a solo shot to left in the second, cutting the Knights lead to 3-2 in the second inning.
Woods joined in on the action in the bottom-half by taking a 1-1 pitch over the fence in right center in the home half to make it 4-2.
The Knights batted around in the bottom of the third, scoring three runs on three hits. Diorio and Vasquez recorded singles, while Barber was hit by a pitch to load the bases. The Cougars recorded two outs before Woods beat out an infield single to score one run and another came across on an error.
A passed ball later in the frame put the Knights up 7-2 before back-to-back walks reloaded the bases, but the Knights were unable to further extend the advantage.
The visitors attempted to cut into the UCF lead in the fifth frame, loading the bases with two outs for Iriart. On an 0-1 offering, the right-handed hitting first baseman lined what looked to be a sure base hit into right. However Barber chased it down, diving to his right to end the threat and keep UH off the board.
"At first, I thought that it was going to be a base hit and they were going to score two on it," centerfielder Woods said. "Barber has a lot of speed and the wind kept the ball up a little bit. He made a great play that help our team tonight."
Following a single by senior catcher Jordan Savinon in the seventh inning, Woods drilled his second homer of the game past the Knights' bullpen in right to put the home team on top, 9-2.
UCF pounded out six earned runs on nine hits in 2 2/3 innings against Houston starter Andrew Lantrip (5-1), both of which were the most the righty had surrendered all season. The Cougars were led by Iriart, who tallied three of his team's five hits.
Prior to the Knights' Military Appreciation Game at 4 p.m. Saturday, all fans are welcome to be a part of the UCF Dugout Club BBQ. The event starts at 2:30 p.m. and the cost is $10, which includes email-level access to the UCF Dugout Club.
Free tickets for military personnel can be obtained by clicking here. A free T-shirt can be picked up by the first 100 fans and all military personal. Sophomore righty Robby Howell is set to start for the Knights.