Week 8 NotebookWeek 8 Notebook

Week 8 Notebook

ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – After clinching the annual War On I-4 title for Knight Nation over the weekend, the UCF baseball team will hit the road for seven out of its next eight games, starting Tuesday night with a 7 p.m. pitch at Jacksonville.

The Knights earned their first series win in the American Athletic Conference over the weekend, taking two of three against War On I-4 rival South Florida. The Black and Gold struck early with runs in the first inning of all three contests. After a 4-1 victory on Friday, the Knights held on for a 5-0 shutout of the Bulls in game two, despite a rain delay that forced the contest to be finished on Sunday morning.

Chris Williams earned his second Pitcher of the Week honor from The American. The righty dealt 6 1/3 innings with six strikeouts to improve to 3-2 on the season. Williams looked poised to run deeper into the game, before a weather delay put an end to his night. It marked his second Pitcher of the Week award of the season.

The redshirt senior has 33 strikeouts over 33 1/3 innings of work this season with just a pair of walks. The righty is second in the nation with a 16.5 strikeout-to-walk ratio and .54 walks per nine innings.

WEEK 8 NOTEBOOK
OVERALL: 20-12
THE AMERICAN: 3-6
NON-CONFERENCE: 17-6
THIS WEEK: 3-1
STREAK: L1

LAST WEEK'S GAMES 
Tuesday at Stetson – W, 13-4 | Recap
Friday vs. USF – W, 4-1 | Recap
Saturday vs. USF – W, 5-0 | Recap
Sunday vs. USF – L, 6-3 | Recap

THIS WEEK'S GAMES 
Tuesday, April 9 | 7 PM – at Jacksonville | Live Stats
Friday, April 12 | 6 PM – at Cincinnati | Live Stats | FM96.9/AM740 The Game | Watch
Saturday, April 13 | 4 PM – at Cincinnati | Live Stats | Listen on UCFKnights.com | Watch
Sunday, April 14 | Noon – at Cincinnati | Live Stats | FM96.9/AM740 The Game | Watch

A QUICK RECAP 
* After a rough weekend against UConn, the offense turned it on for a season-high run total against Stetson in a 13-4 win.
* Grant Schuermann dealt 6 2/3 innings with one run against, as the Knights opened the War On I-4 with a win.
* Despite a 15-hour rain delay, the Knights blanked the Bulls 5-0 to clinch the War On I-4 all-sports title.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Chris Williams, RHP, rSr.
1 App, 1 GS, 6.1 IP, 6 K, 4 H, 0 BB, 0 R
• Worked through sixth career game without a walk in at least six innings pitched.
• Retired the side in five of six innings. 
• Faced the minimum through three on 26 pitches.
• Third quality start on the year.

HITTER OF THE WEEK
Dallas Beaver, INF/C, Jr.
4 App, 4 GS, .500/.625/.667, 4 RBI, 2 2B
• Started week with 2-for-4 performance at Stetson with two RBI.
• Recorded at least two hits in three games.
• Drew four walks on the week.

TEAM NOTES 
• Ray Alejo went 6-for-15 at the plate with three RBI, including a home run.
• Jeffrey Hakanson struck out 10 batters over 4 1/3 innings of work in three appearances.
• The pitching staff has recorded 10 quality starts this season, after a pair from Chris Williams and grant Schuermann this weekend.
• Kyle Kemp gave up an earned run for just the third time this season. He has a bullpen low 1.33 ERA over 15 appearances.
• Alejo moved up to 16th in the nation with 85 total bases and four triples.
• With six walks on the week, Matthew Mika now has 26 on the year, good for third in The American.
• The Knights put down four sacrifice bunts and are now 29th in the nation with 23.
• Ben McCabe launched his first home run and triple last week.
• Of the 11 runs allowed by the pitching staff last week, only seven were earned.
• Opponents hit just .190 off the pitching staff.

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