After notching a 2-1 series win this weekend against Boston College, the UCF baseball team (6-2) was firing on all cylinders in a 12-1 routing of in-state rival, the USF Bulls (4-3) at Jay Bergman Field Tuesday night.
The Knights bats fired a constant barrage, with 16 hits and put up runs in five different innings. D.J. Hicks had four RBI’s, Darnell Sweeney had three hits and two RBI’s, and Nick Carrillo scored three times, had two hits and two RBI’s off a homerun.
To compliment the hitting clinic, the pitching staff was stellar in the Knights victory. The five pitchers for the Knights combined for 15 strikeouts and only one run allowed.
Freshman Eric Skoglund earned the win for the Knights as he dealt a career high seven strikeouts, and retired 13-of-15 batters faced.
“We definitely threw the ball well, as a team,” said Skogland after the game. “You always have believe that you’re the best pitcher out there on the mound, no matter what inning or time. I really had to prepare and focus on getting ahead of the count, on the first pitch.”
Preseason C-USA Player of the Year and UCF slugger, Hicks, took the mound for the first time since March of 2009 as starting pitcher. He handled the first two frames, allowing no runs on three hits.
In the second inning with two Knights on base, Travis Shreve hooked a line drive just inside the chalk in right field, barely out of reach of RF Buddy Putnam for an RBI double. The next batter, Darnell Sweeney, laid a rope out to left to tack on two more. UCF led 3-0 after two.
Although Hicks put up two scoreless frames, Skoglund was brought in to the start the third inning. The results were devastating for the Bulls as Skoglund was throwing smoke, striking out two to end the inning.
Shreve was caught stealing to end the third inning, but only after earning his second RBI on a single to right, bringing in Nick Carrillo who scored for his second time in two innings. The Knights led 4-0.
By the fourth inning Skoglund, was pitching with ice in his veins, striking out the side, and fanning five of his last five batters.
Hicks contributed a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth to score a run, and in the fifth Alex Friedrich smacked a double off the wall to give UCF a 6-0 lead with four innings left to play.
The Bulls put up their first hits against Skoglund in the sixth when Alex Mendez bunted and reached, followed by a James Ramsay single. Skoglund recorded his seventh and final strike out of the night before walking Daniel Rockhold, loading the bases with two outs, on a grueling 14-pitch at-bat.
UCF Coach Terry Rooney made a call to the bullpen to bring in right-hander Roman Madrid, who struck out Andrew Longley, keeping the Bulls off the scoreboard through six.
UCF freshman pitcher Garrett Nuss contributed a scoreless frame of his own and recorded one strike out in the seventh inning.
The UCF bats got back to work in the bottom of the seventh with two outs. Nick Carrillo turned on a no-doubter over the right field wall for a tw0-run homer. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases for Hicks, who invited all three of his teammates home by driving a double into right field for three more runs.
Hicks scored on an error, totaling six runs in the inning and giving the Knights a 12-0 lead.
“Tonight was probably the best over all team effort, from top to bottom of all of our games this season,” Coach Rooney said. “ It’s a good win, and we have to keep moving on, we’re playing a great Bethune club tomorrow.”
The Knights will travel to Daytona to take on Bethune-Cookman tomorrow at 6 p.m. before returning home for a three game series against Siena.
