ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – With six games remaining in its American Athletic Conference slate, the UCF baseball team will travel to Texas for a three-game set against No. 19 Houston this weekend at Schroeder Park.
The Knights and Cougars will open play on Friday at 7:30 p.m. (ET) on the American Digital Network. Saturday's first pitch is set for 7:30 p.m. (ET) with Sunday's start time slated for 2 p.m. (ET). Marc Daniels will have the call for all three contests on 96.9 FM/740 AM The Game or through the iHeart Radio app.
Fans can tune into the game on the American Digital Network on Friday through The American's Facebook or YouTube pages.
UCF (30-15, 9-9) enters the weekend in sixth place in the league ledger. The Knights needed extra innings to beat FAU on Tuesday night at John Euliano Park. Tyler Osik bookended the game with RBI singles in the first and 10th innings, the latter was his third walk-off of the year. The pitching staff surrendered just six hits and did not issue a walk for the third time this season.
Osik and Rylan Thomas continue to battle each other for the team lead in RBI. Thomas holds a one-RBI advantage over Osik with 51 runs driven in this season. They are the fifth duo since 2001 to both have more than 50 RBI in a single campaign. Along with Matthew Mika, one member of the trio has driven in a run in 39 of UCF's 45 games this season.
On the mound, Cre Finfrock has won all four games since returning to a starting role. The righty has a 1.40 ERA over 19.1 innings of work with 22 punchouts as a starter. Garrett Westberg, who picked up his second win of the year on Sunday against Wichita State, trimmed his ERA down to 1.42, behind JJ Montgomery (0.82) and Luis Ferrer (0.82) for pitchers with more than 10 innings out of the bullpen.
Houston (28-17, 13-5) sits atop The American standings following a sweep of then-No. 7 ECU on the road. Connor Hollis earned conference player of the week laurels after hitting .421 with four RBI and four runs scored last week. The Cougars are led by Trey Cumbie and Aaron Fletcher on the mound. The duo has combined for four complete games, while Fletcher ranks 14th in the nation with a 1.51 ERA.
GAME INFO
GAME 46 | UCF at No. 19 Houston
Friday, May 4 | 7:30 p.m .(ET).
Watch: American Digital Network | Listen: 96.9 FM/740 AM
Cre Finfrock (RHP, 5-0, 3.44 ERA) vs. Trey Cumbie (LHP, 5-2, 3.64 ERA)
GAME 47 | UCF at No. 19 Houston
Saturday, May 5 | 7:30 p.m. (ET)
Watch: Houston All-Access | Listen: 96.9 FM/740 AM
Chris Williams (RHP, 4-1, 2.14 ERA) vs. Aaron Fletcher (LHP, 5-2, 1.51 ERA)
GAME 48 | UCF at No. 19 Houston
Sunday, May 6 | 2 p.m. (ET)
Watch: Houston All-Access| Listen: 96.9 FM/740 AM
Joe Sheridan (LHP, 3-1, 2.34 ERA) vs. TBA
NOTES TO KNOW
• Houston has a 27-20 lead in the all-time series against the Black and Gold, but he two clubs have split the last 10 games.
• After setting the program record for most wins by a first-year head coach, UCF skipper Greg Lovelady became the fastest to 70 wins with his victory on Tuesday.
• Rylan Thomas extended his on-base streak to 53 games on Tuesday night. He is 12 games shy of Kiko Vasquez's 65-game record.
• Thomas' on-base streak has broken the program single-season record, as well as the single-season and career marks for The American.
• The sophomore owns the third longest active streak in the nation.
• Matthew Mika and Ray Alejo hold the top two spots in The American in stolen bases with 24 and 22, respectively. They comprise the first 20-steal duo since 2012.
• The Knights are nine steals away from 100 in 2018. It would be the first back-to-back 100-steal seasons for the program since 2004 and 2005.
• UCF has 27 extra-base hits in the last 10 games; 16 doubles, four triples and seven home runs. Alejo has accounted for four doubles and three triples during that span for a .568 slugging percentage.
• Since Dallas Beaver moved up the leadoff spot 12 games ago, the sophomore has an on-base percentage of .351.
• The UCF arms rank ninth in the in the nation in ERA (3.00), third in hits allowed per nine innings (7.10), eighth in strikeouts per nine innings (10.1) and ninth in WHIP (1.20).
• Entering the weekend, the Knights are 8-5 against ranked opponents in 2018, including a two-game sweep of No. 1 Florida earlier this season.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL GAME NOTES
WATCH: UCF AT No. 19 HOUSTON - FRIDAY
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