April 5, 2016
Final Stats
04-05-16 - UCF vs. FAU - Images by UCF Knights
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - UCF kept No. 12 Florida Atlantic off the board for 10 innings, but the Owls scored in the 11th frame to top the Knights, 5-0, on Tuesday night. The Knights turned a season-high four double plays, including an #SCTop10 nomination to end the ninth inning on a diving stop by junior shortstop Kam Gellinger at the UCF Baseball Complex.
"First off, the guys did a terrific job tonight," head coach Terry Rooney. "Bottom line is that you win as a team and lose as a team. We talk about keep getting better and I thought our pitchers did a fantastic job. We threw 10 shutout innings."
Related: Video Recap | Stats | Box Score | Photo Galley | SoundCloud
UCF (17-14) was held to four hits, which included the 12th double of the season by Gellinger. The Knights had the would-be, game-winning run in scoring position in the ninth inning with two outs following a single by freshman Matthew Mika and a wild pitch, but he ended up being left on base.
Bring Em' Out
- UCF used a season-high nine pitchers -- Harrison Hukari, Thaddeus Ward, Bryce Tucker, Chris Williams, Eric Hepple, Campbell Scholl, Trent Thompson, Andrew Deramo and Drew Faintich.
- The Knights pitched out of a number of jams and stranded 12 FAU base runners.
- Freshmen Ward and Tucker had a pair of strikeouts in their outings that lasted 2 and 1 1/3 innings, respectively.
- Williams logged a ground out in the sixth inning to leave a pair of Owls' base runners.
- Thompson worked out of an one-out bases loaded jam with back-to-back strikeouts in the eighth inning to keep the Owls off the board.
Turning Two
- The Knights turned a season-high four doubles plays.
- A tailor-made 6-4-3 double play put two away in the second inning.
- Diving to his left, Kam Gellinger saved a run and flipped the ball with his glove to second. Ryan Crile finished off the twin killing with throw to first base, ending an #SCTop10 worth play.
- A routine fly ball to right field became two outs when Eugene Vazquez tossed the ball to first to complete the double play.
- The final double play came to end the 11th on a grounder to second baseman Crile (4-6-3).
- UCF is among the nation's leaders in double plays with 34..
"We did a great job defensively. We made some unbelievable plays out there to keep us in that position [a scoreless game]."
HC Terry Rooney
Noting The Owls
- FAU was paced by Stephen Kerr and Brett Lashley with two hits each, while a pair of runs were driven in by CJ Chatham.
- The victory was notched by Devon Carr with two strikeouts in two innings of work.
- Starter David McKay went six innings and fanned four.
UCF begins a three-game set at Houston on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern. The middle game of the series is set for 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, while the finale starts at 2 p.m. Sunday.