ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnighs.com) – The UCF baseball team closes out a four-game homestand this weekend against Memphis at John Euliano Park. The penultimate home series of 2019 gets underway on Friday night at 6 p.m., followed by first pitches at 6 p.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Marc Daniels will have the call on FM96.9/AM740 The Game and UCFKnights.TV all weekend.
UCF rebounded from a road series defeat at Wichita State over the weekend with a 5-4 walk-off win against Bethune-Cookman on Tuesday afternoon. Matthew Mika started the proceedings with a leadoff solo shot in the first, before delivering a walk-off single to left in the 10th inning with the bases loaded.
Mika has been on a bit of a hot streak as of late with three home runs in his last three games. In that span, the senior has a .429 clip at the plate with eight RBI and an OPS of 1.542. Mika is a .299 hitter on the year and sits third on the team with 30 RBI, a career best
THE WEEKEND ROTATION
For the fifth consecutive series, the Knights will send veterans Grant Schuermann and Chris Williams to the mound for the opening two games. Prior to last Thursday’s start at Wichita State, Schuermann had an 0.83 ERA and a 3-0 record over his last three starts. Williams check in this week at 14th in the nation with a 7.50 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 15th in walks allowed per nine innings at 1.19.
The Knights have used three different arms to start the series finales in conference this season. Trevor Holloway made a short appearance in the series finale against ECU, before Jaylyn Whitehead took over for the next three starts. Rookie Zack Hunsicker made his first career start for the Black and Gold last Saturday against Wichita State.
SCOUTING MEMPHIS
• The Tigers enter the week in sixth place in The American standings with a mark of 5-6 in the league and 20-18 overall.
• The pitching staff has been one of the most efficient in the nation with a strikeouts per nine innings mark of 10.3, good for seventh in the nation, led by Alex Hick’s 7.88 strikeout-to-walk ratio, which is ninth in the country.
• Hunter Goodman leads the Tigers and sits sixth in the conference with a .360 batting average to go along with a team-high 47 runs batted in.
PROMOTIONS
• UCF will host Joe Skinner Knight in conjunction with the Skinner Strong Foundation to cap a month-long fundraising drive to fight pediatric cancer.
• Saturday will be Military Appreciation Day at John Euliano Park, and the Knights will pay homage to those who have served and continue to serve our country by wearing camo caps. All active duty military personnel and veterans can purchase tickets at a special rate by purchasing tickets ahead of time by clicking here.
• Sunday will be Oviedo Day, as the Black and Gold thanks one of the local communities for their support.
GAME 1 – Friday, 6 PM | Live Stats | UCFKnights.TV | FM96.9/AM740 The Game
Grant Schuermann, LHP (4-4, 3.16 ERA) vs. Hunter Smith, LHP (4-4, 4.53 ERA)
GAME 2 – Saturday, 6 PM | Live Stats | UCFKnights.TV | FM96.9/AM740 The Game
Chris Williams, RHP (4-3, 4.96 ERA) vs. Chris Durham, LHP (2-2, 4.20 ERA)
GAME 3 – Sunday, 1 PM | Live Stats | UCFKnights.TV | FM96.9/AM740 The Game
TBA vs. TBA
NOTES
• Memphis leads the all-time series 22-20.
• The Knights have won their last five weekend series against the Tigers.
• Grant Schuermann ranks third in The American with 1.87 walks allowed per nine innings.
• Jeffrey Hakanson is currently on pace to shatter the program single-season strikeouts per nine inning record with a mark of 17.76.
• Matthew Mika moved into sole possession of fourth place in program history with 77 stolen bases. He is 15 shy of second all-time.
• After launching eight home runs over the last week, the Knights are within two of their third straight 40-home run season.
• UCF has 15 home runs to lead off an inning this year, including a trio to start games.
• Garrett Westberg ticked his strikeout tally up to 41 on the year in just 29 2/3 innings of work.
• Dalton Wingo has led the way as the only Knight hitting above .300 in league play with a .339 clip and a team-high 12 RBI.
• Matthew Mika leads The American with 21 swipes on the year.
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE GAME NOTES
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