ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - UCF earned its second-straight victory Saturday, shutting out Siena 3-0. In his first start of the year, Senior Juan Pimentel earned the decision while sophomore Bryce Tucker notched the teams first save.
Pimentel threw five and one third innings giving up just two hits, one walk and four strikeouts. He said he felt like he didn't have his best stuff but credited preparation for his success.
"That's [coach] Lovelady's first thing, mental game," Pimentel said. "When you don't have your physical stuff, that's when mental game comes in to play. That's what I did today, just had to grind it out and found a way to get us the win."
The bullpen did its part as well, as junior Jordan Scheftz, sophomores Chris Williams and Bryce Tucker and freshman Joe Sheridan all contributed. Tucker looked strong in the closing role, striking out three of the four hitters he faced to seal the win.
"Great teams find different ways to win," head coach Greg Lovelady said. "Some days you have to out slug teams and some days you have to out pitch teams and sometimes you have to do something else. Today we had to out pitch them and our guys did a phenomenal job."
The Knights will look for the sweep as the three-game series concludes Sunday at 1pm at the UCF Baseball Complex.
Knights by the Numbers
- Juan Pimentel - 17 batters faced, 5.1 innings, 2 hits, 1 walk, 4 stirkeouts
- Freshman Dallas Beaver made his first collegiate start at catcher and set the tone early throwing out a would-be base-stealer in the second inning.
- Freshman Joseph Sheridan also made his first appearance, getting a crucial out in the fifth to help the Knights work out of a jam
- Seniors Brennan Bozeman, Kyle Marsh, and Eli Putnam each collected RBIs
- Tucker earned the first save of the season with three stirkeouts in the ninth inning.