ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF baseball team continues its homestand at John Euliano Park for a pair of midweek games against Yale. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Both games will be streamed on UCFKnights.TV.
The Knights enter the week after dropping their weekend series to Penn State. UCF evened the series on Saturday night with a 5-3 decision, led by Ray Alejo’s three-hit performance. On Sunday, the Knights took a one-run advantage into the seventh, only to see the Nittany Lions plate seven runs and take the series.
Alejo had a solid week at the plate for the Black and Gold. The Orlando native hit .389 with four extra base hits and three RBI. The redshirt junior went 3-for-4 against Penn State on Saturday and fell a single shy of UCF’s first cycle since 2015.
Kyle Kemp made his third multi-inning appearance of the year, striking out a season-high five batters against the Nittany Lions. The righty has thrown 10 innings this season with 16 strikeouts without allowing an earned run. He leads the team with an .032 opponent batting average.
UCF will welcome back Major Leaguer Dan Winkler on Tuesday night. The Atlanta Braves reliever will be at John Euliano Park to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Winkler played for the Knights during the 2011 season, leading UCF to the NCAA Tallahassee Regional. He was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 2011 MLB Draft and made his debut for the Atlanta Braves in 2015. The righty made 69 appearances and struck out 69 batters with an ERA of 3.43 last season for the Braves.
ON THE MOUND
Jordan Spicer will return to the bump on Tuesday after two weeks off. The righty is 1-0 on the year with six strikeouts over a pair of starts. UCF will announce its starter for Wednesday tomorrow.
SCOUTING YALE
• The Bulldogs are 3-7 on the year after dropping their weekend series at Florida.
• Simon Whiteman has been one of the best contact hitters in the nation with a .476 batting average, good for ninth nationally. The senior also ranks 12th in the country with 11 stolen bases.
• Yale leads the all-time series 4-1-2. This will be the first meeting between the two ballclubs since 1989.
Game 1 – Tuesday, 6 PM | UCFKnights.TV | Live Stats
Jordan Spicer – RHP (1-0, 8.59 ERA) vs. TBA
Game 2 – Tuesday, 6 PM | UCFKnights.TV | Live Stats
TBA vs. TBA
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE GAME NOTES
WEEK 4 NOTEBOOK
OVERALL: 10-5
THE AMERICAN: 0-0
NON-CONFERENCE: 10-5
THIS WEEK: 2-2
STREAK: L1
THIS WEEK'S GAMES
Tuesday, March 12 – vs. Yale, 6 PM
Wednesday, March 13 – vs. Yale, 6 PM
Friday, March 15 – vs. VCU, 6 PM
Saturday, March 16 – vs. VCU, 6 PM
Sunday, March 17 – vs. VCU, 1 PM
LAST WEEK'S GAMES
Wednesday vs. Ball State – Win, 9-8 (13) | Recap
Friday vs. Penn State – Loss, 5-2 | Recap
Saturday vs. Penn State – Win, 5-3 | Recap
Sunday vs. Penn State – Loss, 11-5 | Recap
A QUICK RECAP
* UCF went 2-2 on the week.
* The Knights went to extra innings against Ball State, rallying to a 9-8 win.
* Chris Williams shrugged off a tough third inning on Friday, but the Knights could not come back in the opener.
* Ray Alejo went 3-for-4 and drove in a trio of runs to lift UCF to a series-tying victory, aided by four hitless innings of relief from Kyle Kemp and Garrett Westberg.
* UCF’s one-run advantage in the seventh was thwarted when the Nittany Lions struck for seven runs to take the series.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Kyle Kemp, RHP, rSr.
1 IP, 2 IP, 0 H, 5 K, 0 BB
* Made his third multi-inning appearance for the Black and Gold on Saturday night.
* Struck out a season-high five batters over two innings of relief work.
* Has an 0.00 ERA and an opposing batting average of .030.
HITTER OF THE WEEK
Ray Alejo, OF, rJr.
4 GP, 4 GS, .389/.421/.778, 3 RBI, 4 XB, 1 SB, 2 R
* Notched two multi-hit outings.
* Went 3-for-5 with 1 run scored and a double against Ball State.
* Drove in a trio of runs in a three-hit performance on Saturday night against Penn State, finishing a single shy of the cycle.
* Leads the team with a trio of home runs this season.
TEAM NOTES
* The Knights are 10-5 on the year with six games remaining before the start of American Athletic Conference play.
* After missing the opening game of the weekend series, Tyler Osik extended his on-base streak to a career-long 13 games.
* Dallas Beaver took over the team lead in RBI with 13. He is also on a season-long 10-game on-base streak.
* Osik went yard against Penn State in the first inning for his third dinger of the year. The homer was the first in six games for the Knights.
* The pitching staff struck out 46 batters on the week, led by Jack Sinclair’s seven over 3 1/3 innings of work.
* Zack Hunsicker made a pair of appearances this week as the first freshman hurler used by the Knights this season. The righty fanned a pair and gave up one run in 3 1/3 innings.
* The Knights are up to 14 double plays turned this season, ranking 18th in the nation.
* Gephry Pena and Jay Lyons both notched their first career base hits, while Adams Torres drove in a run in his first at bat of the year on Sunday.
* UCF has 25 stolen bases on the year to rank 38th in the country.
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