The Knights came into FedEx Park with high expectations, but were unable to get their bats going offensively in a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Memphis and their starter, Sam Moll (2-1).
Moll was un-hittable for the majority of his outing, surrendering just four hits over seven innings while striking out eleven. His ERA stood at an outstanding 1.50 after the outing.
On the other hand for the Knights, ace Ben Lively went the distance in an outstanding performance. Lively suffered his third loss on the season after struggling solely in the third inning. He yielded two runs, both on wild pitches, but would regain his composure to shut out the Tigers for the remaining frames. On the season, Lively has maintained a 0.61 ERA and has been the Knights most consistent pitcher.
UCF’s only run came on an RBI single off of the bat of James Vasquez in the second inning. This old fashioned pitching duel ultimately led to UCF’s demise.
Desperate to try to even the series with the Memphis Tigers, the Knights fell once again in Game 2 by a score of 5-2. This loss can be described in two ways: miscues and missed opportunities.
Knights starter and redshirt senior Chris Matulis (3-2) took his second loss of the season in a game he surely wishes he could have back. In the bottom of the third with the bases loaded, Matulis allowed the Tigers to get on the board with an error on a comebacker to the mound. Matulis continued to struggle with his command and was pulled in the fourth inning.
As a whole the Knights pitching staff struggled with their control, yielding seven walks and two hit batsmen. For the Tigers, starter Erik Schoenrock was in control. The lefty was dominant through six innings while only allowing two runs on four hits while striking out three.
The Knights had numerous opportunities to keep this game close or even pull ahead of Memphis but they failed to do so. According to UCF Athletics, the Knights had “the lead-off man reach in five of the final seven innings after scoring in the first two frames.”
UCF’s stagnant offense has placed a lot of extra pressure on their pitching staff, making it difficult for this team to be successful. In Game 3, look for the Knights to try and avoid the sweep and play a complete game.
In an exciting final game, UCF Knights fell to the Memphis Tigers 8-7 and were swept away in the last game of the series. Chris Taladay led the way with his bat, collecting three hits and RBIs. As a silver lining to the rough weekend, he extended his hitting streak to 11 games in today’s defeat. Taladay has been the Knights most consistent offensive weapon, producing a .379 batting average while knocking in 32 runs this season.
Knights starter Erik Skoglund (1-3), was ineffective and was removed in a fifth inning that consisted of three different pitchers for the Knights and five runs on five hits for the Tigers. In seven starts this season, Skoglund has not been strong posting a 5.08 ERA in 39 innings.
All series long, the Knights got off to an early lead and then faltered in the middle innings. In the two preceding games, the UCF bats could not get it going. In a game where the UCF offense did all it could to get the job done, the pitching was not there.
This series was a huge let down for UCF, who are now sixth in the Conference USA standings. The Knights will continue their road trip on Wednesday in Tampa and look to turn it around against in-state rival USF. The Knights were not able to put together a victory in this series in large part because they did not play any complete games. In all three games they struggled with consistent fundamentals, the essential key to winning ballgames.
With an upcoming game at USF, the Knights will need a victory to jumpstart this road trip. After playing in Tampa, the Knights will move onto an extremely important series against the Rice Owls. Look for UCF to rebound and start climbing the Conference USA standings.
