March 5, 2016
HOUSTON, Texas (UCFKnights.com) - UCF junior righty Robby Howell provided the Knights 7 1/3 scoreless innings in a 2-0 win at Rice Saturday. Juniors Ryan Crile and Austin Griffin each drove in a run as the Knights scored twice on a trio of doubles in the fifth inning at Reckling Park.
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"It was tremendous team win. Robby Howell has given us three-straight quality starts," head coach Terry Rooney said. "Tonight was probably his best outing against a very good Rice team. He made some pitches when he needed it, threw strikes and was down in the zone. The defense did a terrific job behind him."
For the third-straight start, Howell (2-0) provided the Knights (7-5) with an opportunity to win after logging 7 1/3 innings and striking out three at Rice (5-6). The Fort White, Fla., native has started his junior campaign with 19-straight innings without yielding a run.
Senior Harrison Hukari notched the final three outs to earn his second save of the campaign, while a strikeout each was recorded by juniors Drew Faintich and Campbell Scholl in the eighth inning.
"Tomorrow is the epitome of Championship Sunday against a good Rice team," Rooney said. "To win a series on the road would be big for a lot of reasons. Our energy and determination will be key for us."
The series between the former Conference USA foes comes down to Championship Sunday with the first pitch set for 2 p.m. ET.
UCF is back home on Mar. 11-13 against LIU Brooklyn. The series opener is set for 6:30 p.m. at the UCF Baseball Complex.
Knights with a Pair
- UCF tallied three doubles and scored two runs in the fifth inning.
- Brennan Bozeman started the rally off with a one-out double to center.
- With two outs, Ryan Crile delivered a double to right and pushed across the first run.
- Austin Griffin hit a ball out to deep left that was lost in the sun and bounced over the fence for a ground-rule double as UCF took a 2-0 advantage.
"It was important for us to manufacture some runs, but also to hit a few balls in the gaps. It helped us put a crooked number and was big for us." -HC Terry Rooney
A Howell of a Time
- Robby Howell logged 7 1/3 innings with three strikeouts and yielded just four hits.
- The Fort White, Fla., native has tossed 19.0 frames without give up a run.
- He forced 11 ground outs for the Knights' infield that did not commit an error.
"I wanted to come out and give us a good start. We played good defense tonight and Bozeman made a phenomenal play at short. It was a good team win."
-RHP Robby Howell
Noting the Owls
- Blake Fox registered seven innings and struck out six, while yielding seven hits.
- Five Owls picked up a base knock.