ORLANDO, Fla. (UCKnights.com) – After making his 2019 debut this past weekend, UCF pitcher Chris Williams was named the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week.
Williams was in midseason form with six shutout innings with eight strikeouts. The righty allowed just one hit and one walk against the Dolphins, picking up his first win of the year. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native struck out at least two batters in three of the six frames and faced a three-ball count just twice all night.
Williams was a force for the Knights in 2018, as the only arm to make every weekend rotation. He finished the year with a conference best 1.64 walks per nine innings and a 4.65 strikeout-to-walk ratio, good for third in The American. He held opponents to two or fewer earned runs in 10 of his 15 outings.
The redshirt senior was forced to miss the first nine games of the year after an NCAA ruling regarding his time on the UCF club baseball team as a freshman.
WEEK 3 NOTEBOOK
OVERALL: 8-3
THE AMERICAN: 0-0
NON-CONFERENCE: 8-3
THIS WEEK: 3-1
STREAK: W2
THIS WEEK'S GAMES
Wednesday, March 6 – vs. Ball State, 6 PM
Friday, March 8 – vs. Penn State, 6 PM
Saturday, March 9 – vs. Penn State, 6 PM
Sunday, March 10 – vs. Penn State, 1 PM
LAST WEEK'S GAMES
Wednesday, vs. No. 3 Florida – Win, 12-9 | Recap
Friday, vs. Jacksonville – Loss, 8-5 | Recap
Saturday, vs. Jacksonville – Win, 3-0 | Recap
Sunday, vs. Jacksonville – Win, 6-4 | Recap
A QUICK RECAP
* UCF went 3-1 on the week, including a win over No. 3 Florida.
* The Knights started the week with a 12-9 victory over the Gators to make it four straight wins in the series.
* Jacksonville took the weekend opener after a two-hour rain delay, topping the Knights 8-5.
* The Black and Gold rallied to even the series on Saturday with the first shutout of the year.
* UCF needed a late two-run double by Chandler Robertson to clinch the weekend series, 6-4.
PITCHERS OF THE WEEK
Chris Williams, rSr., RHP
1 GP, 1 GS, 6 IP, 8 K, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB
* Made 2019 debut after missing first nine games
* Rolled off six shutout innings, finishing one strikeout shy of career high, earning the win in the process.
* Williams allowed just one hit for the second time in his career when throwing at least six innings.
* Saturday was the longest outing in his first start of the year for Williams and bested his Opening Knight distance of five innings in 2018.
* Tabbed The American's Pitcher of the Week.
Jeffrey Hakanson, So., RHP
3 GP, 1.93 ERA, 3 SV, 4.2 IP, 8 K, 1 H, 1 ER
* Recorded a save in three of the four games last week.
* Had an ironman performance against No. 3 Florida, throwing 55 pitches of a career-long 2 2/3 innings, getting out of a bases-loaded jam to end the game.
* Came on and fired one strikeout in Saturday’s shutout win.
* Struck out the side in the ninth to clinch the weekend series.
* Earned Honor Roll laurels from The American.
HITTERS OF THE WEEK
Brandon Hernandez, Sr., INF
4 GP, 4 GS, .455/.600/.818, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 4 BB
* Launched the go-ahead homer against No. 3 Florida in a 3-for-4 performance at the plate.
* Went 1-for-4 and scored a run in the series opener against Jacksonville.
* Drew a pair of walks on Saturday.
* Drove in a run on a 1-for-2 day with a run scored, a walk and a sacrifice bunt.
Tyler Osik, rSr., INF/OF
4 GP, 4 GS, .438/.500/.500, 2 RBI, 1 2B, 2 BB
* Went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBI against No. 3 Florida.
* Scored a run in all four games.
* Drew a pair of walks and stole two bases.
* Capped week with a 3-for-5 outing against Jacksonville.
* Named to The American Weekly Honor Roll.
TEAM NOTES
* UCF is now 2-2 against ranked opposition in 2019.
* The Knights posted a 5-3 record over eight straight games against 2018 NCAA Regional teams.
* Matthew Mika went 3-for-4 when stealing to help the Knights swipe nine bags.
* The Knights cut down on the walks during the week, striking out 40 batters to just 18 free passes.
* The shutout was the first for the Black and Gold since a 1-0 win over South Florida last year on April 20.
* UCF scored eight runs with two outs and hit .282 with runners in scoring position.
* Freshman Ben McCabe earned his first career start on Saturday. He also recorded a pinch hit single on Sunday.
* Hakanson now has 18 strikeouts over eight innings of work this season.
* Garrett Westberg earned a pair of wins on the week, one against No. 3 Florida and the other on Sunday against Jacksonville.
* UCF has started fast this season, outscoring opponents 27-14 through the opening three innings this season.
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