ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF baseball team will hit the road for the second time in the American Athletic Conference with a three-game series at Cincinnati this weekend. First pitch times are set for 6 p.m. on Friday, 4 p.m. on Saturday and noon on Sunday.
Scott Adams will have the call on Friday and Sunday on FM96.9/AM740 The Game with Saturday’s game being broadcast through UCFKnights.com.
The Knights improved to 9-0 in midweek contests on Tuesday night at Jacksonville with an 8-2 win. UCF plated six runs over the final three innings of the game, including a Tyler Osik grand slam in the ninth, to clinch the season series over the Dolphins. The bullpen dealt 5 2/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts, led by a trio of silent frames by Jaylyn Whitehead.
With a pair of home runs on Tuesday, UCF now has 28 on the year. Osik, Ray Alejo and Dallas Beaver are all tied for the team lead with six. The Knights have launched multiple homers in six games this season, topped by a four-home run performance against Auburn in the series finale. Osik leads the team with 15 career home runs, followed by Beaver with 13.
THE WEEKEND ROTATION
Chris Williams and Grant Schuermann have been on the top of their games over the last two series. The duo has a combined ERA of 0.93 during that stretch with a 3-0 record. Schuermann dealt the Knights’ first complete game of the year in a series opening win over UConn. Williams has not issued a free pass over his last two starts and only has two walks this season. The Knights will make a call on the Sunday starter later this week.
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
• Cincinnati is 14-18 after falling in the title game of the John Nuxhall Classic on Wednesday night to Miami over 11 innings.
• The Bearcats are 5-4 in The American with series wins over USF and UConn.
• Joey Bellini is the lone Bearcat hitting above .300 with a .343 clip at the plate to go along with 10 RBI.
• Cincinnati has been one of the cleanest defensive teams in the nation, ranking 12th with a fielding percentage of .980.
GAME 1, Friday, April 12, 6 PM | Live Stats | Watch | FM96.9/AM740 The Game
Grant Schuermann, LHP (3-3, 2.44 ERA) vs. AJ Jullman, RHP (2-0, 4.67 ERA)
GAME 2, Saturday, April 13, 4 PM | Live Stats | Watch | Listen on UCFKnights.com
Chris Williams, RHP (3-2, 4.59 ERA) vs. TBA
GAME 3, Saturday, April 14, Noon | Live Stats | Watch | FM96.9/AM740 The Game
TBA vs. Garrett Schoenle, LHP (1-5, 5.08 ERA)
NOTES
• UCF leads the all-time series 11-5 and has won the last three regular season series.
• Chris Williams enters the weekend ranked second in the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio and walks allowed per nine innings.
• Jeffrey Hakanson continues to hold the team lead with 38 strikeouts from 20 innings of work.
• Ben McCabe is hitting .282 in 17 games played this season with five RBI.
• Catcher Anthony George hosed another runner trying to steal on Tuesday, his seventh on the year.
• Entering the weekend, the Knights will play 12 of the next 18 on the road.
• Despite note stealing a base over the last six games, Matthew Mika continues to lead the league with 15 swipes on the year.
• UCF is 13-0 when holding opponents to two runs or fewer and 58-2 mark in the Greg Lovelady.
• The Knights have scored in the first inning in 18 games this season and own a 35-15 advantage in runs scored in first innings.
• Tyler Osik’s grand slam was the first for the Knights since April 8, 2018, when he launched a grand slam against Cincinnati at John Euliano Park.
GET THE APP
Never miss any UCF Knights news from your favorite team by downloading the free UCF Knights app right to your iOS or Android phone! The app provides personalized information for men's and women's teams, scores, schedules, loyalty programs and even breaking news.
FOLLOW THE KNIGHTS
Follow UCF Baseball on social media on Facebook (/UCF.Baseball), Twitter (UCF_Baseball) and Instagram (UCF.Baseball).