Feb. 20, 2016
02-20-16 - UCF vs. Siena - Game 2 - Images by UCF Knights
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCKnights.com) - UCF totaled 17 hits in a 15-0 victory over Siena on Saturday at the UCF Baseball Complex. Five pitchers combined to keep the Saints off the board.
"It was a great team effort and our players did a great job with their opportunities," head coach Terry Rooney said. "I think that Siena's pitcher was really good and our guys had a nice approach off him. A lot of guys got their first opportunity out there and did a terrific job."
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A four-run fourth and five-run sixth inning powered the Knights (2-0) offense. Three hits each were registered by junior outfielders Luke Hamblin and Eli Putnam, while freshman third baseman Matthew Mika continued his strong start by connecting on a three-run homer and scoring five times.
Junior right Robby Howell (1-0) tallied six strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings of work vs. Siena (0-2). UCF totaled 11 strikeouts in the contest, which included a pair by junior Andrew Deramo.
The Knights look for the series sweep against Siena on Sunday at 1 p.m. with junior righty Nick McCoy making his UCF debut against lefty Chris Amorosi.
Bats Heating Up
- Matthew Mika, Luke Hamblin, Matt Diorio and Brennan Bozeman each added multi-hit and multi-RBI games.
- Sophomore Kam Gellinger registered his second-consecutive two-plus RBI contest.
- Multiple base knocks were also tallied by Eli Putnam and Ryan Crile.
- Mika blasted his second homer in as many games to cap the scoring in the eighth inning.
"We picked up right where we left off yesterday. Everybody hit and had a great game. It took the whole team in every aspect." -SS Brennan Bozeman
Throwing Zeroes
- Five Knights -- Robby Howell, Drew Faintich, Andrew Deramo, Sam Crocker, Bryce Tucker - combined to shutout Seina.
- Howell allowed just three hits during his start and fanned six.
- A three-pitch strikeout by Faintich ended the sixth inning.
- One frame each was logged by Deramo, Crocker and Tucker.
"It is a lot easier to pitch if you have a big lead. You can just pound the strike zone and don't have to nibble around the zone, because it is not a 1-0 game. It is great when the offense goes off like that."
-RHP Robby Howell"The shutout was nice to have. To me from a pitching standpoint, the most important thing was that a lot of guys got opportunities and did a good job."
-HC Terry Rooney
First Look
- Freshmen Anthony George, Sam Crocker and Bryce Tucker made their UCF debuts.
- George forced in a run during the seventh inning after being one of five Knights hit by a pitch.
- Crocker and Tucker retired the side in order during the eighth and ninth innings.
- Sophomore Josh Moser made the most of his pinch-hit opportunity with a single in the seventh frame.