ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF baseball team is set to begin American Athletic Conference (AAC) play Friday, when the team hosts No. 11 Houston at the UCF Baseball Complex. First pitch of the three-game series is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased in advance by clicking here or calling 407-UCF-1000.
The 20-6 Knights are fresh off of big wins against Dartmouth (15-0) and Jacksonville (10-1) and look to continue that momentum as they open the 2017 American Athletic Conference schedule.
Houston (19-5) comes to town riding an 11-game winning streak and is currently second in The American standings. The Black and Gold are 18-4 at home this season including an 11-2 rout of then-No. 2 Florida.
The Knights were just 8-16 in AAC play a year ago but are already five games shy of matching their 2016 overall win-total.
Pitching has been key for UCF, as senior starters Robby Howell and Juan Pimentel are a combined 9-1 through 12 starts. The duo has collected 59 strikeouts and walked just 16 hitters.
Sophomore Bryce Tucker has been lights out in the closer role. He has 32 strikeouts in just 15.1 innings and has notched five saves. Tucker has walked just two batters and given up only four hits all year. He also earned a win during a relief effort against Bethune-Cookman, when the Knights rallied to a 5-4 victory in 11 innings at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.
UCF ranks fifth in NCAA Division I for staff ERA at 2.23 and 10th in strikeout to walk ratio at 3.39.
Offensively the Knights are hitting .295 as a team with 44 doubles, 11 triples, and 23 home runs. The squad has the fifth most stolen bases in NCAA Division I at 54 and ranks seventh in stolen-bases per game at 2.08.
Knights by the Numbers
- Infielder Matthew Mika is riding a 12-game hitting streak, the longest of any Knight this season.
- Mika went 4-for-5 with 1 RBI and 1 run and stole 2 bases. He now has 13 on the season.
- First baseman Rylan Thomas notched a team-best 6th home run of the season against JU and leads the Knights with 29 RBIs.
- Thomas went 3-for-5 on the night with 4 RBIs and 2 runs scored.
- After starting 6 games with 3 no-decisions, right-hander Chris Williams notched his first win of the season against JU Tuesday.
- Jason Bahr shined in relief this week, striking out 4 hitters in 1.2 innings, including back-to-back strikeouts when he entered the game against JU with the bases loaded in the 6th inning.
Catch the action all weekend streaming live on UCFKnights.TV or click here to follow along via live stats. Fans can also tune in to iHeart Radio, FM 96.9 The Game or 740 AM.
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