ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The No. 20 UCF baseball team is set for its second midweek series of the year against a top-10 team. The Knights will travel to No. 8 Florida State for a 6 p.m. first pitch on Tuesday and a 4 p.m. start on Wednesday.
Both games will be streamed on ACC Network Extra. Marc Daniels will have the radio call on 96.9 FM/740 AM The Game.
UCF (17-4) enters its final two-game midweek series of the season at No. 20 in the Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball polls. Pitcher JJ Montgomery was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll after striking out 11 over the course of six innings on Sunday against Chicago State.
The Knights are coming off a 4-1 record last week. After going 1-1 in the midweek, the Black and Gold recorded its fifth sweep of the year with a trio of wins over Chicago State. UCF outscored the Cougars 38-1. The pitching staff struck out 35 batters and gave up one run, nine hits and nine walks.
With a pair of shutouts on the weekend, the Black and Gold took over the national lead with seven. That total also ranks second in the UCF single season record book, eight shy of the mark from 2004. The Knights are second in the country in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 2.86. The 2.25 staff ERA ranks seventh in Division I.
UCF leads The American with 21 home runs this season, 15 of which have come in the last 10 games. For the first time in program history, the Knights hit for the home run cycle on Saturday night. Rylan Thomas has launched six homers this season, while Tyler Osik and Dallas Beaver have added four apiece.
Florida State (16-4, 3-3 ACC) opened the year with 14 straight wins but dropped four of the last six games. The Seminoles pitching staff ranks second in the nation with 11.3 strikeouts per game. Sophomore Drew Mendoza leads the team with a .438 clip at the plate and 20 RBI this season.
GAME INFO
GAME 22 | No. 20 UCF at No. 8 Florida State
Tuesday, March 20 | 6 p.m.
Watch: ACC Network Extra | Listen: 96.9 FM/740 AM The Game
Jordan Spicer (RHP, 3-0, 3.98 ERA) vs. Andrew Karp (3-1, 4.15 ERA)
GAME 23 | No. 20 UCF at No. 8 Florida State
Wednesday, March 21 | 4 p.m.
Watch: ACC Network Extra | Listen: 96.9 FM/740 AM The Game
Thad Ward (RHP, 2-1, 3.48 ERA) vs. TBA
NOTES TO KNOW
• The Knights are 6-33 against the Seminoles all time.
• Along with his home run tally, Thomas ranks fifth in the country in runs (28), seventh in hits (35), seventh in batting average (.455) and 15th in RBI (27).
• The Knights were 7-for-10 when stealing last week to take their season tally up to 60.
• Matthew Mika will carry his seven-game hitting streak into the midweek series.
• The bullpen took its opponent batting average down to .173 with an ERA of 1.44 this year.
• Tuesday and Wednesday will be the final games for the Black and Gold before American Athletic Conference play begins this weekend against ECU.
DON'T MISS THE ACTION
Season and single-game tickets for UCF Baseball are on sale. Featuring a 36-game home schedule, John Euliano Park is set to host some of the best collegiate baseball in the country. For more information on tickets call 407-823-1000 or log on to ticketmaster.com.
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