CLEARWATER, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – For the first time since 2012, the UCF Baseball team has won 40-total games in a single season. The Knights dominated rival South Florida 12-0 Friday, in an American Athletic Conference tournament elimination game at Spectrum Field.
With the victory, UCF moves on to face East Carolina in the semifinals Saturday, while the Bulls are eliminated. It was the second time this year the Black and Gold have dashed the championship hopes of their rival. The Knights also defeated the Bulls in the final game of the regular season, grabbing the conference crown.
Thanks to an incredible start from sophomore Chris Williams and some solid defense, the Knights were able to minimize the South Florida offense. Williams threw a career-high eight innings and was in the midst of a no-hitter through six and two thirds. He also notched a career-best seven strikeouts.
"I'm really proud of the kid," UCF head coach Greg Lovelady said of Williams. "He has really grown over the course of the year and his last three starts have been three of the best starts we've had all year."
In his last three starts, Williams has gone 21 innings while giving up just six hits and one run. He was also key in the regular-season series with the Bulls, going seven scoreless innings while giving up just three hits and ultimately getting the win to set up a winner-take-all series finale for the regular-season title.
After neither team had been able to score and the Knights had missed a couple of chances with runners in scoring position, Williams got a boost from his offense in the sixth inning, when the Knights posted seven runs on five hits and one error.
"That was awesome," Williams said about playing with the lead. "It's a great feeling knowing that you can be a little more aggressive and attack the zone because of that cushion."
The offensive eruption began after left fielder Kyle Marsh reached on an error by the Bulls short stop. Slugger Rylan Thomas then surprised the defense, dropping a bunt-single on the first pitch he saw. Third baseman Kam Gellinger then added a single to left field, loading the bases with one out.
Second baseman Matthew Mika broke open the scoring with a double to the gap in left-center field, Marsh and Thomas both scored on the play. Designated hitter Ryan Crile then added a run, grounding out to first base. With Mika at second and two outs, catcher Logan Heiser got a pitch he liked, and sent it over the wall into the bullpen in left field for his fourth home run of the year.
Now up 5-0, center fielder Luke Hamblin walked and right fielder Eli Putnam was hit by a pitch. Short stop Brennan Bozeman hit a looper to shallow center field, where a diving Bulls outfielder was unable to come up with the catch. Hamblin and Putnam would both score on the play, extending the lead to 7-0.
UCF added two more in the seventh, when Crile launched a no-doubter over the wall in right center field. It was his fifth round-tripper of the year and also brought home Mika who had drawn a full-count walk just prior.
The Knights capped the scoring with three more runs in the ninth before right hander Andy Rohloff came on in the bottom half of the final frame to finish things up.
Next up, UCF will get a rematch with East Carolina in the semifinals. The Pirates defeated the Knights 14-3 in the tournament's opening round and are 2-0 after handing South Florida its first loss on Thursday. Because of the double-elimination format, the Knights would need to beat the Pirates twice in order to earn the right to play in Sunday's championship game.
The semifinal tilt is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. with a rematch to follow at 7:30 p.m. if necessary. All the semifinal action will stream live on the American Digital Network and fans can listen in with Marc Daniels on FM 96.9 The Game, or follow along via live stats.
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