Orlando, Fla. – The UCF baseball team is moving to the second round of the American Athletic Championship with a first round victory for the first time since 2014, after defeating the No. 4 seed Cincinnati on Tuesday, 14-10. The No. 5 seed Knights (29-28) are set to take on Memphis (19-37) on Thursday, May 27 at 3 p.m. ET, aired on ESPN+.
With the first-round victory, the Knights find themselves in the winner's bracket, along with No. 2 seed Tulane and No. 6 seed South Florida. The winner of Thursday's contest will move on to play on Saturday, May 29 at 9 a.m., while the loser will play again on Friday at 1 p.m.
Click here for Championship Central and to see the updated schedule for the 2021 American Athletic Conference Championship.
KNIGHTS NOTABLES
- UCF picked up a first round victory in The American Championship for the first time since 2014, defeating Cincinnati in a thriller, 14-10.
- During regular season play, the Black and Gold took three of four games against the Tigers and tallied 54 runs in the four-game series.
- The Knights nine-run inning in the eighth is the highest run total in a single inning since 2017.
- Jordan Rathbone's 15 home runs in 2021 leads the Knights and is the most HRs in a single season since 2011 (Jonathan Griffin, 19 in 2011).
- Rathbone's home run total currently sits tied for sixth all-time
- The Knights have stolen 85 bases as a team, led by Gephry Pena with 26 to lead the American Athletic Conference.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
- In the Tigers first contest of the AAC Championship, No. 8 seed Memphis took down top-seeded ECU with a seven inning, mercy rule victory, 11-1.
- The last time the two teams met in the postseason, the Knights defeated Memphis in walk-off fashion with an 8-7 win in 10 innings.
- Memphis is led by Hunter Goodman, who was named to the AAC First Team All-Conference on Monday
- Goodman carries a .316 batting average, slugged 21 HRs on the year, and maintains a .699 SLG% at the plate.
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