ORLANDO, Fla. – The No. 14 Knights swept their series with Butler with a 4-1 victory at John Euliano Park on Sunday afternoon. UCF has now won six straight contests and picked up their third weekend series sweep in the victory.
Happy to get the sweep, but there's still more to come from these boys ??
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) March 8, 2020
Hear from Coach Lovelady after sweeping Butler ?? pic.twitter.com/ryAtNwAWVd
Dalton Wingo put the Knights on top early, driving in the speedy Gephry Pena in the first inning. With an first inning lead, lefty starter Joe Sheridan was able to settle in early and toss a gem.
Sheridan held the Bulldogs hitless through three innings and kept them scoreless into the sixth inning where they picked up their only run of the game.
In the second inning, freshman Matt Archer drove in the other three UCF runs with one swing of the bat. The infielder's dinger was his first home run as a Knight, and brings his RBI total to 10 on the year.
Closer Jeff Hakanson came in the ninth inning and continued his domination of opposing batters, striking out all three batters he faced to pick up his seventh save of the year.
Winning Pitcher: Joe Sheridan (2-0)
Losing Pitcher: Joe Graziano (1-1)
Top Pitchers: Joe Sheridan (6.0 IP, 5 K, 1 R), Jeff Hakanson (1.0 IP, 3 K, SV)
Top Hitters: Matt Archer (2-3, 3 RBI, 1 HR, 1 SB), Dalton Wingo (3-4, 1 RBI, 1 SB)
Key Stats
- Jeff Hakanson picked up his sixth save of the season, matching his 2019 total. Hakanson is now two saves away from joining UCF's top 10 single season saves leaderboard
- Six straight wins for the Knights is the longest of the 2020 campaign and marks the longest winning streak since the 2018 season.
- The longest winning streak in the 2018 season was 13 games and stretched from Feb. 23 to Mar. 13
- Archer's second inning homer was his first at UCF. He becomes the eighth Knight to hit a home run in 2020.
ON DECK
The Knights look to continue their winning ways when they host a top 25 matchup at John Euliano Park with No. 6 Miami on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
DON'T MISS OUT
The UCF baseball team is in its fourth season under head coach Greg Lovelady and will welcome seven teams from the 2019 NCAA Tournament to John Euliano Park in 2020. Click here or call (407) 823-1000 for ticket information.
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