ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF baseball team dropped the series opener 7-4 to South Florida in 11 innings Thursday. Despite the loss, the Knights can still claim The American's regular-season title by taking the next two games and winning the series.
Wins on Friday and Saturday would see the Knights finish 15-9 in conference play while South Florida would wrap up at 14-10. With Cincinnati's victory over Houston Thursday, the best the Cougars can finish is also 15-9, but UCF owns the tie-breaker after winning the regular season series 2-1.
The evening started off well for the Black and Gold, as the home team took a 2-0 advantage in the third. Right fielder Eli Putnam and short stop Brennan Bozeman started a two-out rally with back-to-back singles. Left fielder Kyle Marsh then delivered a pair of RBI's with a double on a 2-2 count.
Starter Robby Howell pitched well, going 7.2 innings with just five hits and six strikeouts. Howell's only mistake came with two outs in the seventh, when he gave up a two-run home run that was aided by a shifting wind that was suddenly blowing out to left field.
The Bulls would manufacture a run in the top of the ninth, grabbing a 3-2 lead and forcing a dramatic bottom half for the home team. Senior Ryan Crile came to bat as a pinch hitter to start the inning. After battling to a full count, Crile got a fast ball up in the zone and unloaded for his fourth homer of the season.
Knotted at three, the game would go to extra innings, but things went awry for UCF in the top of the 11th. A lead-off walk followed by back-to-back hit batsman put the Knights in a no-outs bases-loaded jam. The next two hitters each grounded to the left side and the runners were forced out at home.
The Bulls would score the go-ahead run with another walk, before a double to right field combined with a bad throw cleared the bases and gave the visitors a 7-3 advantage. UCF fought back and scored one run in the bottom of the 11th with two outs before the final out was recorded.
Friday's first pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. with Marc Daniels on the call on UCFKnights.TV, iHeartRadio and FM 96.9 The Game. Saturday's finale will air on CBS Sports Network and is slated for a 1:06 p.m. start. Fans can also click here to follow along via live stats all weekend.
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