March 8, 2015
Final Stats
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By Nate Blythe
UCFKnights.com
Stats: HTML | PDF - VIDEO: Coach Rooney, P Howell, SS Moore - SoundCloud - Postgame Reaction
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - No. 9 UCF completed the series sweep against Columbia with a 9-3 win on Sunday afternoon at the UCF Baseball Complex. Senior shortstop Dylan Moore broke the game open in the second inning with a two-out grand slam and totaled two hits, while driving in five runs.
"It was a terrific series and Columbia is a a very good team. Our guys did a nice job this weekend," head coach Terry Rooney said. "Robby Howell was the story of the day. He was fantastic and keeps getting better and better."
Sophomore Robby Howell tossed a season-high seven innings and yielded just one earned run and struck out five to notch his third win of the year. The final two frames saw freshman Jason Bahr, sophomore Drew Faintich and senior Spencer Davis on the hill.
"My off-speed was there today and I was able to locate change ups down in the zone and get a lot of swings on them," Howell said. "That led to a lot of ground balls and outs for our defense behind me."
A round tripper was also notched by senior center fielder Derrick Salberg to cap the scoring with a two-run shot in the sixth. The insurance runs help UCF improve to 13-2 on the campaign.
In the second inning, sophomore designated hitter Matt Diorio and freshman catcher Logan Hieser drew walks sandwiched in between an infield single by senior third baseman Tommy Williams. A four-pitch walk was issued to senior left fielder JoMarcos Woods to put the Knights on the board.
With the bases full, Moore drilled a 1-0 pitch over the fence in left for a grand slam, increasing the lead to 5-0. It was the third round tripper of the season for the Yorba Linda, Calif., native.
"It is always nice to get out in front early," Moore said. "We had a couple of good at bats to load the bases and get to me with two outs. I was looking for a pitch to hit well and I put a good swing on it."
The Knights' defense continued to shine as a pick off ended the third frame on a nice scoop by senior first baseman James Vasquez.
Columbia (2-5) threatened in the fifth inning with a single and a pair of walks to load the bases, but Howell coaxed a 4-6-3 double play to end the frame.
UCF increased its advantage to 9-1 in the seventh inning. Freshman second baseman Kyle Marsh doubled down the left field line, took third on a ground out and scored on a sac bunt by Woods. A double down to right center brought home the fifth run of the day for Moore, who also accomplished the feat on Feb. 15 vs. Siena.
"Coach [Kevin] Schnall has done a fantastic job with Dylan [Moore] and all of our hitters," coach Rooney said. "The numbers speak for themselves and obviously, Coach Klosty [Ryan Klosterman] and [Kyle] Sprague have the guys working together. They are in charge of the offense and deserve a lot of credit."
Capping the Knights' offensive attack was senior center fielder Derrick Salberg with a round tripper over the fence in right. It was his first homer of the season.
The Lions pushed across their lone run of the game on an RBI single by Will Savage in the seventh inning. The loss was handed to Ryan Marks (0-1), who tossed 3.1 innings and struck out three.
In the eighth frame, sophomore reserve Brooks Morgan tallied his first hit of the campaign.
0 Notes
-Moore's grand slam was the first hit by UCF at home since Beau Taylor vs. Dartmouth (3/4/11).
-Last grand slam by a Knight was blasted by Chris Taladay at Marshall (5/13/12).
-The round tripper by Moore tied him with Barber for the team lead at three.
-Salberg delivered his first homer of the season and second in his UCF career. It was his first multi-RBI game of the season.
-The Knights' starting rotation - Rodgers (2-0), Finfrock (4-0), Howell (3-0) - is a combined 9-0 on the campaign. UCF as a team has tallied an 11-1 record in weekend contests. -The pickoff was the Knights' fifth in the past five games with pitchers Marsh, Hepple, Rodgers and Howell each eliminating a base runner at first.
The Knights head to No. 19 Florida State for a two-game set that begins on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The finale of the series is set for 4 p.m. Wednesday.
UCF welcomes Fairfield for a weekend series with the first pitch on Friday set for 6:30 p.m. The middle game begins on Saturday at 4 p.m., while the finale starts at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Single-game tickets for the 2015 baseball season are currently on sale by clicking here or calling 407-823-1000.