CINCINNATI, Ohio (UCFKnights.com) – After a 5-2 midweek win at Miami, the UCF Baseball team heads north for a three-game series with Cincinnati. With just seven games remaining in the regular season campaign, every win is crucial.
"It's another big weekend for us," UCF head coach Greg Lovelady said. "It's always hard to play on the road and Cincinnati has a great team. We have to be prepared and go out there and do our jobs and try to win the first pitch on Friday."
The Knights are 34-15 overall and 11-7 in The American, tied with Houston for second just one game behind 12-6 South Florida. The Cougars travel to Tulane this weekend while the Bulls visit UConn. The three squads are vying for the regular season title and the No. 1 seed in The American Athletic Conference tournament slated for May 23.
Pitching has been a strength for UCF this season, as the Knights staff ranks among the best in the nation with a combined 2.63 ERA. Only three teams have posted a lower mark. The Black and Gold have struck out 447 batters to date, led by reliever Jason Bahr who has tallied 75 himself.
Redshirt junior Jason Bahr has a season-best 75 strikeouts with senior Robby Howell just behind him with 71. Freshman starter Joe Sheridan has sat down an impressive 54 hitters so far while junior closer Bryce Tucker has turned away 50 in just 30.1 innings.
The team has also been putting pressure on its opponents with aggressive base running. UCF has the 10th most stolen bases in all of NCAA Division I with 93 and ranks ninth in stolen bases per game with 1.90.
Sophomore Matthew Mika leads the team and is among the top-10 base thieves in the nation at a 25-27 mark.
The Knights top The American in runs scored with 314 and senior Luke Hamblin has drawn a conference-best 34 walks from the top of the order. The team is hitting .280 with 93 doubles, 15 triples, and 38 home runs.
Sophomore Kyle Marsh leads the Black and Gold in extra bases with 16 doubles, two triples, and five home runs while freshman Rylan Thomas paves the way with power numbers. Thomas has a team-best 11 home runs and 44 RBIs.
Following the series with Cincinnati, UCF will finish its nine-game road swing with a midweek tilt at FAU before returning home to host the final three games of the season, when South Florida comes to town for another edition of the War on I-4 Rivalry Series.
Marc Daniels will have the call all weekend against the Bearcats on iHeartRadio and FM 96.9 The Game. Fans can also click here to follow along via live stats.
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