HOUSTON, Texas (UCFKnights.com) - Back by a pair of long relief efforts by Thad Ward and JJ Montgomery, the UCF baseball team swept its Saturday doubleheader against No. 19 Houston, the American Athletic Conference leaders heading into the weekend.
The Knights (32-15, 11-9) bested the Cougars (28-19, 13-7) 3-2 in the opener, after Dallas Beaver belted a go-ahead home run in the seventh. For the nightcap, the Black and Gold plated a pair of runs in the 12th inning to claim the series with a 6-4 win.
"That was huge," head coach Greg Lovelady said. "It's always tough to win both sides of a doubleheader, especially against one of the best teams in the country, and one of the better teams in the league. I'm really proud of how the guys showed a lot of toughness today. They played a great game in the opener. Then, we had the lead and blew it in game two, but JJ was just tremendous. We had some tough at-bats in order to take the lead. AT came up big with the hit to tie the game, and we passed the bat in the final inning. I felt like we turned the corner. It's a huge series win. I'm excited to come out tomorrow and try to get the sweep."
GAME 1
The Knights traded runs with Houston in the opener. UCF took the lead in the first and fifth, only for the Cougars to tie the game in the fourth and sixth, respectively. Rylan Thomas put the Black and Gold ahead in the first with a RBI single to center, which brought in Ray Alejo from second.
After the hosts tied the game in the fourth, Alejo flashed his trademark speed with a pair of stolen bases to reach third in the fifth. Dallas Beaver brought him in on an RBI groundout to take a 2-1 advantage. The sophomore would be called on two innings later to put the Knights ahead for good. With the game all square at 2-2, Beaver smashed a towering drive over the right field fence for his fifth homer of the year.
While the UCF offense could not create a sizeable gap, the pitching staff did not allow the Cougars to find any rhythm at the plate. Starting hurler Cre Finfrock went five innings with a trio of punchouts, three hits and two earned runs. The righty did not allow a runner in scoring position through the first five innings, except for a solo homer in the fourth.
Finfrock came back out for the sixth, but had to turn the reins over to Ward with the bases loaded and no outs. Ward needed just 13 pitches to get out of the jam without surrendering a run, striking out a pair in the process. He also worked around a runner in scoring position with one out in the seventh with two outs, but induced an inning-ending ground ball to maintain the lead. The junior closed out the game with seven strikeouts over the final four innings.
KEY STATS
UCF - 3, Houston - 2
Winning pitcher: Thad Ward (5-3)
Losing pitcher: Trey Cumbie (5-3)
Top performers: Thad Ward (4 IP, 7 K, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 R), Dallas Beaver (3-4, 2 RBI, 1 R), Rylan Thomas (3-4, 1 RBI)
GAME 2
The nightcap saw the Knights take another early lead. Beaver sent a single up the middle to drive in Alejo from second. Two innings later, Beaver and Thomas each brought in a run on back-to-back RBI groundouts to put UCF ahead 3-0.
After starter Chris Williams made his exit after three innings, Houston struck for a pair of scores in the fourth, before tying the game at 3-3 in the sixth on an RBI sacrifice fly. In the eighth, a UCF error on a routine grounder gave the hosts a runner on second with one out. Houston capitalized on the on the miscue during the next at-bat with an RBI single through the right side to that its first lead of the day.
Logan Heiser opened up the top of the ninth with a double down the left field line. Pinch hitter Chandler Robertson did his job by moving the runner over to third with a slow ground in the infield. Freshman Adams Torres, who had already notched his first career hit earlier in the game, drove a 3-2 offering to left for his first career RBI and the game-tying score.
The focus turned to Montgomery and the defense to keep Houston off the board and send the game into extra innings. Already in his third inning in relief, the Indianapolis, Ind., used 12 pitches to retire the side in order. Montgomery did not allow a hit in the 10th and 11th innings. The righty struck out seven and scattered a pair of hits over five innings.
The Knights were back to the top of the order to start the 12th inning. After Alejo and Thomas successfully completed a double steal with one out, Tyler Osik drilled a single off third base to bring in the game-winning run. Matthew Mika added an insurance run during the next at-bat with an RBI fielder's choice.
KEY STATS
UCF - 6, Houston - 4
Winning pitcher: JJ Montgomery (5-4)
Losing pitcher: Ryan Randel (3-4)
Save: Bryce Tucker (6)
Top performers: JJ Montgomery (5 IP, 7 K, 2 H, 1 R), Dallas Beaver (2-3, 2 RBI, Adams Torres (2-5, 1 RBI, 1 R), Tyler Osik (2-5, 1 RBI)
BEAVER BASH
* Dallas Beaver found his groove on Saturday with a 5-for-7 performance over the two games.
* The sophomore drove in five of UCF's nine runs.
* Beaver's home run was his sixth career home run and third solo shot.
RELIEVERS RULE
* Even with solid performances by both starting pitchers, UCF went to the bullpen on six occasions on Saturday.
* Relievers ate up 13 innings between the two games.
* Bryce Tucker earned his team-leading sixth save of the year, fanning two in the 12th.
* The bullpen surrendered four runs, three earned, on four hits, while striking out 18.
* The win gave the relievers their 12th win of the year.
* Ward tallied his 10th career victory.
DOUBLEHEADER NOTABLES
* Houston now leads the all-time series 27-22, but the Knights have won six of the last 10.
* Finfrock and Ward combined for a four-hitter in the opener. It was the 15th time the Knights have allowed five or fewer hits in a game.
* With 10 strikeouts in game one and 13 in game two, the Knights have fanned at least 10 batters in 25 games this season.
* Finfrock took his first no-decision since returning to a starting role this season.
* Thomas extended his on-base streak to 55 games.
* UCF is 10-5 against ranked opponents this season.
* Alejo stole a trio of bases on Saturday to take his season tally up to 25, passing Mika for the team lead.
* Alejo's two doubles in the nightcap matched his career high.
* The Black and Gold is 4-0 in extra-inning affairs this season and 6-2 in the Greg Lovelady era.
UP NEXT
The Knights will look to complete the sweep of Houston on Sunday with a 2 p.m. (ET) start time. Joe Sheridan will go to the mound for the Black and Gold.
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