ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF baseball team improved to 7-0 Sunday, as it completed a three-game sweep of Manhattan at the UCF Baseball Complex taking the final game 7-2.
"We had some great at bats late in the game to score some runs," UCF head coach Greg Lovelady said. "We kept the pitching domination going, those guys have really carried us and given us a chance to win games."
Redshirt junior Jason Bahr threw another quality start, striking out nine hitters and giving up just one run on two hits and one error. The right-hander faced 19 hitters and walked just two.
The Jaspers scored two in the sixth, after two singles and a hit batsman loaded the bases with two outs. A rare walk brought home a run and the tying run scored when freshman Rylan Thomas couldn't reign in a sharply hit ground ball to first base.
Sophomore Thaddeus Ward then came on in relief and notched a huge strikeout to get the Knights out of the inning.
The Black and Gold came right back, loading the bases in the bottom of the sixth with just one out. Second baseman Ryan Crile stepped in and delivered a clutch double, scoring all three runners to retake the lead 5-2. Crile now leads the team with 10 RBIs.
UCF added some insurance in the seventh after senior outfielder Luke Hamblin drew a walk and then scored from first when sophomore Kyle Marsh smacked a double down the left field line. Marsh leads the squad in extra bases with five doubles and one triple on the season.
Junior outfielder Josh Moser came on to pinch run for Marsh, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored the Knights final run on a ground ball to short stop by senior Brennan Bozeman.
Sophomore Bryce Tucker came on in the ninth to finish things up and retired all three hitters he faced. The final out put an exclamation point on the series, as Tucker ended the game by notching his seventh strikeout of the year.
Recent Knights
- Hamblin and senior outfielder Eli Putnam each have a hit in all 7 games this season
- Outfielder Bryce Peterson delivered a grand slam in the second inning of game 2 Saturday night
- Senior starters Robby Howell and Juan Pimentel are each 2-0
- UCF pitchers have a combined ERA of 1.71, with 79 strikeouts and just 11 walks.
- Sophomore left hander Bryce Tucker has faced 10 batters, earned 2 saves and notched 7 strikeouts in just 3 innings of work.
- The Knights have stolen 15-17 bases, sophomore infielder Matthew Mika is 5-5
Next up, UCF travels to Gainesville, Fla. for a home and away with the Gators. Game 1 is scheduled for Feb. 28 at 6:30 p.m. The two teams will then head back to Orlando for game 2, slated for Mar. 1 at 6:30 p.m. at the UCF Baseball Complex.
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