After winning the first game of the series Friday night, the UCF baseball team (35-9, 13-4 C-USA) saw its seven-game win streak come to an end against the Memphis Tigers (19-24, 7-10 C-USA) in a game the Knights could not wrap up late, losing 6-5.
The Knights were leading 4-1 to start the seventh inning and allowed five runs combined in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, to let the series clincher slip away.
“Clearly, we’re not playing as well late as we are early in the games,” Coach Terry Rooney said after the loss. “We just have to stay locked in every pitch. That’s what we talked about yesterday; we let those guys back in the game because we didn’t play every pitch. Well today, just look, a couple close plays and couple close balls, it doesn’t matter, we didn’t do it.”
Chris Matulis started for the Knights and pitched 6.2 innings of one-run ball before getting into a jam in the seventh and needing to be relieved by Garret Nuss. Two of the runs allowed by Nuss were inherited from Matulis and therefore charged to his bill. UCF closer Joe Rogers was charged with his first loss of the season as Memphis pitcher Patrick Bailey earned the win.
“Chris Matulis did a great job, he did his job as a starting pitcher. I thought he really battled and his command was pretty good,” Rooney said of his starter. “When you look at the bottom line, overall, what he did out there was a terrific job.”
Chris Taladay put the Knights on the board in the bottom of the second by relocating a 0-2 pitch over the wall and into the Knights bullpen for a solo homerun. Alex Friedrich and Ryan Breen built on the inning with back-to-back singles and both runners were brought home on a JoMarcos Woods single up the middle. The Knights scored an efficient three runs on four hits to take an early 3-0 lead.
Darnell Sweeney was on spot at shortstop with a couple ESPN-worthy putouts early in the game. Sweeney has been plagued by errors on similar acrobatic attempts but if he can trim down on the throwing errors, like Saturday night, he fields the position like a vacuum and does wonders for the pitching staff.
A walk and a single for Memphis put a Tiger at the corners with no outs in the top of the fourth. Adam McClain scored from third on a fielder’s choice, but Matulis retired the next two batters to get out of the inning and keep the Knights in the drivers seat, leading 3-1.
Jeramy Matos responded for the Knights in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single that brought home Taladay, bringing the Knights back to a three-run lead.
The Tigers closed the gap in the top of seventh on a two-out rally, scoring two runs and bringing the game to a 4-3 contest. Matulis gave up back-to-back singles, forcing Coach Rooney to call freshman reliever, Nuss, from the bullpen. Two more singles from the Tigers brought home the runs.
Sweeney hit an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to get one of the surrendered runs back, but the Knights were poised to do much more damage in the inning. A D.J. Hicks walk following the single loaded the bases with only one out for Taladay, who hit a hard one bouncer up the middle that was snagged on a blink reaction from Memphis pitcher Sam Moll, who converted the (1-2-3) double play.
The Knights defense was staggered in the top of the eighth when a series of errors and passed balls allowed the Tigers to tie the game at five a piece. A lead off walk followed by a single put a man at first and third.
Derrick Thomas scored from third for the Tigers on a passed ball. After striking out the previous batter, UCF reliever Roman Madrid fielded a tough chopper up the middle, stared down and held the runner at second and then threw the ball intended for first into the dirt. The runner on second scored on the error.
Joe Rogers took the mound for the Knights to start the ninth inning with the ballgame tied at five. A questionable walk gave the Tigers the go-ahead man on base, and got the already rowdy fans to their feet. The runner advanced to third on a passed ball and a groundout, and then scored on a Derrick Thomas single through the shortstop gap.
Rogers struck out the next batter to end the inning, but not before allowing the Tigers to take a 6-5 lead into the bottom of the ninth.
Travis Shreve, C-USA’s Hitter of the Week last week, took four straight balls to put the tying run on first and bring the winning run to the plate. Ronnie Richardson pushed a sacrifice bunt too close to the pitcher, who was able to get the leadoff out at second. Sweeney popped up for the second out and D.J. Hicks struck out while trying to hit a ball into Bright House Networks Stadium.
“At the end of the day, Memphis played better fundamental baseball than us, they threw more strikes, they defended better and they won,” Coach Rooney said after the game. “It doesn’t matter what your talent level is, you have to play fundamentally sound baseball. To Memphis’s credit, they played better.”
The Knights will play for the series tomorrow, Sunday the 29th, at 1 p.m at Jay Bergman Field.
