ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The 2017 baseball season started with a bang this past weekend, as senior Eli Putnam sent the game's second pitch soaring over the wall in left center field. The Knights went on to complete a three-game sweep of Siena and will now play host to North Florida Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. at the UCF Baseball Complex.
Opening night was one for the ages, as UCF posted 10 runs in the first inning and added seven more before the night was through. The 17-run total tied a school record for most runs in a season opener.
Knight Nation also came up big over the weekend, setting a UCF record for attendance on opening night (2,621), highest attendance for an opening weekend (5,359), making the 2017 opening series the fifth-best attended series in program history.
The Knights are 2-3 all-time against the Ospreys, and were 1-1 against its northern neighbors in 2016. Right-hander Chris Williams is scheduled to start for the Black and Gold. Williams had a 2.30 ERA last season in 15.2 innings of work with 12 strikeouts.
Righty Matt Vaka is expected to be on the hill for North Florida. Vaka was 3-1 in 2016 with a 4.63 ERA, eight walks and 21 strikeouts through 46.2 innings.
North Florida took two out of three from Radford in its opening series this weekend and was12-9 on the road just a year ago. The Knights were 17-13 at home last season but look to improve that number under new head coach Greg Lovelady.
UCF adds 12 newcomers including three freshman who all expect to have an impact in their first season. The squad also returns 12 seniors to provide leadership and experience all around the diamond.
Tuesday night will feature $1 hot dogs and $1 sodas at the concession stand and season ticket holders who have not done so already can pick up their UCF Bobblehead from the marketing table.
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