ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKNights.com) – While the No. 22 UCF baseball team just wrapped up its 30th game of the season on Tuesday night, four former Knights just started their 2018 Major League Baseball campaigns.
Catcher Drew Butera, the veteran Knight in the league, started all three games on opening weekend for the Kansas City Royals. Butera's Opening Day performance did not fail to impress with 2-for-4 performance at the dish with a double. With fellow catcher, Salvador Perez placed on the DL to start the season, Butera is set to see a lot of action in the opening weeks of the season.
Butera's Kansas City Royal teammate Eric Skoglund was named to the starting rotation last week, but he will have to wait another week to make his 2018 debut. Due to a weather postponement of Sunday's series finale in Kansas City between the Royals and the Chicago White Sox, Skoglund's first start of the year was skipped.
Ben Lively made his 2018 debut on Tuesday night. Lively started strong striking out the first batter of the night. He went on to total five punchouts over 5 2/3 innings. Lively also worked out of trouble in the third. After allowing the first two runners to reach base, he settled in and retired the next three batters. The bruising righty finished the night giving up two runs on six hits. Lively's next start is scheduled for this Sunday against the Marlins.
Dan Winkler made two appearances out of the bullpen on opening weekend for the Atlanta Braves. He pitched two innings of relief and notched four strikeouts, allowing only one hit. After signing a one-year contract extension with the Braves in January, Winkler continues to be a presence in the Atlanta bullpen after working back from an elbow injury last year.
As for the current Knights, UCF will make the cold trip up to Connecticut for a three-game set against the Huskies this weekend.
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