The UCF Knights clinched the War on I-4 rivalry series against USF this weekend by winning three of the series’ four games.
UCF began the War on I-4 series by winning both games of Friday’s doubleheader. Game one resulted in a shut-out, as the Knights came away with the commanding 6-0 win.
UCF’s momentum would carry on to game two, as the Knights would take an early 4-0 lead going within the contest’s first three innings. The Bulls responded by closing the gap to just two runs with three innings left to play.
The Knights would add on to their lead in the bottom of the eighth inning, as an RBI from freshman infielder Andrew Brait gave the Knights 5-2 lead.
Brait’s RBI would go down as the game’s final run, giving UCF the 5-2 win.
UCF started the first game of Saturday’s double-header strong, taking an early 2-0 lead over the Bulls in the bottom of the second inning.
A single from freshman infielder John Montes would result in RBIs from freshman Pablo Ruiz and junior Joshua Crouch, giving the Knights the early advantage.
However, the Bulls would eventually respond by producing four runs in the top of the fifth inning. A three-run home run from Bulls’ redshirt freshman Daniel Cantu put the Bulls ahead 3-2.
Soon after, a solo home run from redshirt sophomore Roberta Pena would extend the USF lead to 4-2.
The Knights had an answer, re-tying the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, as a single from Andrew Brait allowed sophomore Ben McCabe to reach home plate, reduced the deficit to just one run. Following, another Montes single produced a game-tying RBI from freshman infielder Alex Freeman.
The game would remain tied through the ninth inning, sending the contest to extra innings. The Knights endured a rough start at the top of the 10th, as the Bulls loaded up the bases with just one out. The Knights would call for a pitching change, asking redshirt junior David Litchfield to relieve the struggling junior pitcher Billy McKay.
Litchfield completed this task by grounding out his first batter and striking out his last batter leaving all three bulls on base heading into the middle of the tenth.
Crouch came up big, once again, singling to left field, which produced the game-winning RBI from junior Trent Taylor.
The latter game of Saturday’s doubleheader did not go as well. The Bulls controlled this one from the beginning, as they started the game vigorously, exploding for four runs within the game’s first three innings.
Three of those runs came in the third inning, leading the Knights to insert sophomore pitcher Zack Hunsicker into the game in place of struggling junior pitcher Jack Sinclair.
UCF’s pitching struggles would proceed with the Bulls tallying up 14 hits and 11 runs through eight innings of play.
The Knights struggled to get into any sort of rhythm offensively against USF redshirt sophomore pitcher Brad Lord. Lord held the Knights scoreless and would allow only three hits through five innings of pitching.
The Knights ultimately fell 11-0 in the final game of the series.
After winning three of the four games, the Knights moved to 18-19 on the season and 8-5 in the American Athletic Conference.
The Knights will travel to Greenville, North Carolina, next Friday, where they will take on East Carolina in a four-game series.
