ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF baseball team heads to Clearwater this week for The American Athletic Conference Tournament at Spectrum Field. The Knights grabbed the No. 1 seed and clinched a regular-season championship over the weekend, after taking the final series of the season from rival South Florida at the UCF Baseball Complex.
The Black and Gold finished the season at 38-18 overall and 15-9 in conference play, winning all but one regular-season series against conference foes in 2017. The last time UCF claimed a conference crown dates back to 2004, when the Knights still belonged to the ASUN.
After finishing in the basement of The American in 2016, first-year head coach Greg Lovelady has turned things around in just one season and has likely secured a return to NCAA regional play for the first time since 2012.
UCF led The American with a 2.80 staff ERA, 101 stolen bases, 1.81 stolen bases per game and runs scored as the Black and Gold offense crossed the plate 360 times in 2017. Freshman starter Joe Sheridan was the only pitcher in the conference to tally 10 wins on the season. Senior right-hander Robby Howell also impressed, going 9-0 and notching 80 strikeouts in the regular season.
Senior center fielder Luke Hamblin drew a league-best 40 walks as the Knights lead-off hitter and racked up a team-high .422 on base percentage. After missing 2016 with an injury, sophomore left fielder Kyle Marsh bounced back and led his team in extra bases, delivering 18 doubles, four triples, and five home runs on the year.
Another freshman, Rylan Thomas also had a big impact at the plate for the Knights. He sent the ball over the fence 13 times and collected in 51 RBI's, coming up just shy of conference leader Jake Scheiner in both categories as the Houston slugger posted 15 home runs and 52 RBI's.
The American tournament is scheduled for May 23-28 at Spectrum Field in Clearwater, Fla. The Knights will open the double-elimination tournament against No. 8 seed East Carolina on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Catch all the action on CBS Sports Network or listen along with Marc Daniels on iHeartRadio & FM 96.9 The Game.
Tournament action is set to begin Tuesday, May 23 at 3 p.m. with the top seeded Knights facing the eighth seed East Carolina at 7 p.m. UCF is 3-0 against the Pirates this season, having earned its first sweep of a conference opponent since joining The American, and its first-ever sweep of East Carolina when the team traveled to Greenville earlier this year.
The top-two teams remaining in the double-elimination format will square off Sunday May 28 at noon, with the winner earning a guaranteed birth to NCAA Regionals. Tuesday's games will air on CBS Sports Network while the remaining games through the semifinals will appear on the American Digital Network with the championship match on ESPN NEWS.
The Voice of the Knights, Marc Daniels will call every UCF game on FM 96.9 The Game and iHeartRadio and fans can click here to follow along via live stats.
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