ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - The UCF baseball team refused to be beaten Friday, on what was dubbed Joe Skinner Knight at the UCF Baseball Complex. The Knights defeated Memphis 7-4 in a game that marked the end of a month-long fundraising effort by the team to help find a cure for pediatric cancer.
The Black and Gold helped raise $26,692 through Vs. Cancer plus an additional $5,766 in other donations, all to benefit the cancer research arm of Florida Hospital. UCF raised the most of any team through Vs. Cancer by more than $8,000, leading the charge for a combined total of $238,873 by College Baseball Vs. Cancer 2017.
On the field, the Knights got on the board early, after back-to-back hits and a walk loaded the bases. With nobody out, designated hitter Bryce Peterson then hit into a double play, but first baseman Rylan Thomas was able to score from third.
The Tigers roared back in the fifth, posting three runs on four hits and a walk. But the Knights would not be deterred, battling back immediately in the bottom half of the inning.
Short stop Brennan Bozeman started things off with a base hit and scored from first on a stand-up double by Peterson. Third baseman Kam Gellinger added a single to center, scoring Peterson and knotting the game at three.
Catcher Anthony George reached on a fielder's choice, stole second and moved to third on a ground ball that was the innings second out. He then scored on a wild pitch before right fielder Eli Putnam drew a walk. Second baseman Matthew Mika then brought Putnam home with a triple and scored himself on another wild pitch shortly after.
Memphis cut the lead back to two with a solo home run to begin the sixth, but the next three hitters were retired in order. Once again the Knights would get the run back in the bottom half, after Bozeman walked, stole second and moved to third on a passed ball. Gellinger then delivered his second RBI with a double down the left field line.
Now up 7-4, it was up to the UCF bullpen to shut down the Tigers. Reliever Jason Bahr worked the seventh and eighth innings, faced eight batters and struck out six. Closer Bryce Tucker came on in the ninth. After a lead-off single, he delivered two ground-ball outs and a fly ball to short stop to secure the victory.
Notable Knights
- UCF grabbed its 30th victory of the season after winning just 26 games in all of 2016
- Starter Robby Howell improved his record to 7-0 going 6 innings, giving up 4 runs on 10 hits with 3 walks and 6 strikeouts
- Reliever Jason Bahr added 6 strikeouts of his own and now has team-best 65 on the year
- The Knights raised a grand total of $32,458 in a month-long campaign to help support cancer research
- Tucker earned his 7th save of 2017. He has a 0.66 ERA through 20 appearances with 46 strikeouts and just five walks
- The Knights stole 4 more bases, upping their season total to 83 out of 92 attempts
- The Black and Gold improve to 30-12 overall, including 25-7 at home and 8-5 in AAC play
Game two is slated for 4:30 p.m. Saturday with Sunday's finale set for 11:30 a.m. Click here or call 407-UCF-1000 to purchase tickets in advance. Catch the action streaming live all weekend at UCFKnights.TV, listen at FM 96.9 The Game, or follow along via live stats.
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