ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – On a wet and cold night at John Euliano Park, the UCF baseball team blanked North Florida 5-0 at John Euliano Park. The Knights recorded their second shutout on the year behind a six-hit performance from the pitching staff.
“We played really well tonight,” head coach Greg Lovelady said. “It was good to bounce back, get back on the field and get a win under us. Jordan Spicer did a tremendous job tonight. It was his best start of the year, if not his career. He gave us a chance. We came out and scored some runs in the first inning. Beaver and Mika were huge in the seventh inning to give some breathing room to save the bullpen. We played a great game with some great defense. It was good to see us bounce back and get the win tonight.”
Starting pitcher Jordan Spicer had a career night on the mound. The righty tossed six shutout innings and fanned a trio of batters. Spicer scatted a pair of hits and worked around three walks to improve to 2-0 on the season. The two hits were the fewest the senior had allowed in an outing with at least five innings of work.
The bullpen provided three shutout innings in relief. Jeffrey Hakanson struck out a pair in the sixth. Southpaw Jaylyn Whitehead punched out two in the eighth, before Liam Silvagnoli closed it out in the ninth, inducing a double play and a groundout.
While the pitchers locked down the UNF bats, the Knights continued their habit of striking early with a pair of runs in the first. Ray Alejo got things started with a slicing triple through the wind to right center. Tyler Osik brought the redshirt junior in on an RBI single back up the middle. Osik later came in from second on an RBI single to right by Dallas Beaver.
Osik tacked on an insurance run in the third with a solo blast to right. Into a wind with gusts of 30 mph blowing in from dead center, the redshirt senior hammered an opposite field homer to right to make it 3-0.
UCF added a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh. Matthew Mika roped a one-out triple down the left field line to set up an RBI opportunity for Beaver. The junior only needed three pitches to bring in Mika with a towering two-run homer to right center.
UCF (16-9) – 5, North Florida (16-11) – 0
Winning pitcher: Jordan Spicer (2-0)
Losing pitcher: Ethan Michaelis (3-3)
Top hitters: Tyler Osik (3-5, 2 RBI, 2 R, 1 HR), Dallas Beaver (2-2, 3 RBI, 1 R, 2 BB)
Top pitchers: Jordan Spicer (6 IP, 3 K, 2 H, 0 R), Jeffrey Hakanson (1 IP, 2 K, 0 R), Jaylyn Whitehead (1 IP, 2 K, 0 R), Liam Silvagnoli (1 IP, 0 R)
SPICE IS NICE
• Spicer’s outing was his longest shutout performance at UCF.
• The righty retired five of the seven leadoff batters he faced.
• Spicer did not allow a runner to advance past first during his six innings of work.
THAT’LL BE EXTRA BASES
• UCF tallied four extra-base hits on the night.
• After Osik tied for the team lead in home runs with five, Beaver jumped back in front with his sixth homer of the year.
• Alejo and Mika both tripled, marking the first two-triple game for the Knights since April 14, 2018, against Cincinnati.
NOTES
• UCF now trails the all-time series 12-10, with the next game in Jacksonville on April 30.
• Ben McCabe recorded his second career multi-hit game.
• Mika went 2-for-2 on stolen bases to take his season tally to 14.
• Whitehead has struck out at least one batter in four of his last five appearances.
• Beaver drew a pair of walks to move into the team lead with 19 on the season.
UP NEXT
UCF will return to American Athletic Conference action this weekend against UConn at John Euliano Park.
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