ORLANDO – In a well-rounded performance, the UCF baseball team improved to 16-6 on the season as it took down Maryland in the series opener, 4-2, Friday evening at John Euliano Park.
"A huge game – that's a really good college baseball game. It just came down to who was going to make the most mistakes and who was going to be able to get the big hits," Head Coach Greg Lovelady said.
The Knights were able to capitalize on a pair of Terrapin errors and backed a stellar pitching performance from Ruddy Gomez with offensive production.
Gomez, who has been the storyline of the last two Friday nights, set yet another career mark with eight innings pitched. Two weeks prior, Gomez set his career-long outing at 7.2 innings and last Friday, Gomez had a career-high 12 strikeouts in a six-inning outing. Continuing to raise the bar for himself, he tacked another win onto his perfect 4-0 record.
The Terrapins came out swinging early, adding three hits and one run in the top of the first, but Gomez limited the damage to one, stranding two on base.
John Rhys Plumlee was hit by a pitch to get on base in the bottom of the third, and Andrew Brait followed, fighting through a 10-pitch at bat to send a double to left center that scored Plumlee. An error by the second baseman allowed Tom Josten to reach and score Plumlee to give the Knights the lead, 2-1.
Nick Romano blasted his fifth home run of the season over the left field wall in the bottom of the fourth, a solo shot that brought the team's tally to 46 home runs on the season.
The Terrapins leadoff man, Luke Shliger answered with a home run to left in the next half-inning to bring the score to 3-2, Knights.
Adding an insurance run for the Knights, Andrew Sundean hit an RBI single up the middle which plated Josten who was on base from an error.
Closer Kyle Kramer took over on the mound for the Knights in the final inning, going 1-2-3 and ending the game with a swinging strikeout to secure the sixth save of his season and the 12th of his career. This ties Kramer for seventh all-time in saves.
"There's no ifs, ands, or buts about who's going to save the game. You know that he's going to be able to be present and win pitches no matter what happens," Lovelady said on Kramer.
The Knights are set to take the field against the Terrapins as the Citronauts at 6 p.m. on Saturday at John Euliano Park with a chance to secure the series win.