March 26, 2016
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - For the third time this season, UCF junior Austin Griffin came up with the bases loaded and connected on a grand slam. The round tripper to left center in the fifth frame powered the Knights to an 8-3 victory over Cornell on Saturday during Pink at the Park at the UCF Baseball Complex.
"My teammates keep getting me into that spot with the bases loaded and I keep coming through," Griffin said. "It was a 3-1 count, so I was looking to be very aggressive and he left me something that I could handle."
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After yielding three runs in the first inning, junior Robby Howell (5-0) settled in and logged 7 2/3 innings. He fanned a season-high six batters and helped the Knights' defense turn three double plays in a four-inning stretch. Junior Drew Faintich and freshman Thaddeus Ward combined to retire the final five outs.
"Robby slowed the game down after getting a little frustrated early," Rooney said. "We talk a lot about being able to separate pitches and pitching down in the zone."
Multi-hit games were recorded by juniors Luke Hamblin, Ryan Crile, Eli Putnam, Kam Gellinger and Eugene Vazquez. Hamblin also drove in two runs for UCF (14-11) against Cornell (6-6).
The Knights have clinched the series against the Big Red and go for the sweep at 11 a.m. Sunday. The game was moved up from 1 p.m. due to the threat of inclement weather in the afternoon.
Three Grand Slams for Griffin
- Austin Griffin put UCF on top for good with a grand slam in the fifth inning.
- The bases loaded round tripper was his third of the campaign. He is now 5-for-8 with the bases loaded.
- The Keller, Texas, native also blasted his conference-leading eighth homer.
- The frame was setup with a double by Eugene Vasquez, walk issued to Luke Hamblin and infield bunt single by Ryan Crile.
"He has certainly been a force in the middle of our lineup. That is what you hope for in the middle of the lineup -- run production -- Griff has done that without any question. It was an advantage count for him, he went down and got the pitch. He has been doing that for quite a while."
-HC Terry Rooney
Manufacturing Runs
- The Knights pushed across their first run on an RBI single by Luke Hamblin following a single and wild pitch in the third inning, 3-1.
- UCF cut the deficit to 3-2 on a run-producing ground out by Jake Corso in the fifth stanza.
- Logan Heiser started off the sixth frame with a no-doubt homer over the fence in left. It was his second of the campaign.
- A one-out double by Kam Gellinger started the seventh inning and three-consecutive walks increased the lead to 8-3.
"Coach Rooney emphasized to be aggressive at the plate, yesterday. The approach was to battle with two strikes, because we had been striking out a lot as a team. In doing that, we were being a little passive early in counts, so he wanted us to be more aggressive in advantage counts."
-3B Austin Griffin
"Today, I felt like offensively, we had something to us. It was the first time in a couple games that we had some swagger. I thought that our guys did a really good job."
-HC Terry Rooney
Noting the Big Red
- Ellis Bitar paced Cornell with a pair of hits and one RBI.
- Tim Willittes (2-2) went five innings and struckout three, while yielding six runs.
- The Big Red also saw Jamie Flynn and Scott Soltis see time on the hill.