It has been nine games since the Knights were last shut out and it has only happened three other times this year.  Memphis pitcher Chase Joiner tossed a gem of a game, going the distance and only allowing five hits and two walks against the Knights.

The lone bright spot from the loss was UCF pitcher Brian Adkins, pitching a career night to match the outing of Joiner.  Adkins tossed a complete game as well, only allowing one run and eight hits.

“He threw a great game, I have to tip my hat to him,” Adkins said of Joiners outing. “There’s not a whole lot you can do, it was a great battle.”

The Adkins outing was pivotal considering the Knights bullpen was in need of some rest and if anything, they can write this game off as an investment to the end of the season.

“Brian Adkins threw a terrific game,” Coach Terry Rooney said. “Brian definitely picked up the pitching staff today, there’s no question, and we needed it.  He pitched his heart out and what a game, tough one-nothing loss, but what a game.”

The Tigers scored first in the top of the sixth inning, breaking a 0-0 tie through the first five. Adam McClain doubled to left-center and worked his way over to third on a deep lineout to right.  Derrick Thomas brought in the go ahead run on an RBI single to left field.

In the bottom of the eighth, Ronnie Richardson nearly tied it up when he hit a double off the top of the left field wall with one out.  Ryan Breen almost hit a two-run lead changer on the next at-bat but was traced down at the warning track.  D.J. Hicks grounded out to first to end the threat; it was the first time the Knights threatened since the first couple innings.

Alex Friedrich gave the Knights some hope in the bottom of the ninth with one out, after a fly ball to deep left was dropped when two Tigers converged on the ball allowing Friedrich to reach second.  Jomarcos Woods moved Friedrich to third on a groundout to first.  With two outs, a man on third and the game on the line, Jeramy Matos grounded out to third to the end the ballgame.

“We need to get better, we haven’t done anything yet, we haven’t.  It’s very apparent that we need to get better as a team because we’re not there yet,” Coach Rooney said after the disappointing weekend. However, the Knights will take the loss in stride, learn from it and prepare for a very tough Wednesday showdown at Stetson at 6:30 p.m.

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 29^th, at 1 p.m at Jay Bergman Field.

Shreve earned the honor for the first time in his career after guiding the No. 7 Knights to a 4-0 week.

Shreve tore it up from the No. 9 spot, batting nine-for-16 (.563 batting average), notched three stolen bases, and played error-free defense to help the Knights (34-8, 12-3 C-USA) surge into the top 10 in the nation.

He increased his batting average to a team-high .360 as UCF swept Tulane and Florida Atlantic in the last week.

At No. 7, UCF achieved its highest ranking in school history.

Up next for the Knights is a weekend series with in-conference foe Memphis, beginning Friday at 6:30 p.m.

With the nickname ‘Under Construction Forever’, UCF students are no strangers to seeing new projects being undertaken just as quickly as old projects are finished.  UCF is home to some of the nations best facilities for both student athletes and the student body because of their endless commitment to building a top-tier campus for the country’s second biggest enrollment class.

Most recently, the UCF baseball diamond, Jay Bergman Field, underwent the first phase of an expansion that added 1,100 seats featuring an upper deck along the first base chalk stripe.  While construction workers labored tirelessly to complete the first phase before Opening Night of the 2012 baseball season, the Knights baseball foreman and head coach, Terry Rooney, has been quietly building something awfully spectacular between the foul posts.

The 2012 Knights baseball team has exploded onto the scene and has proven that they can play ball with just about anyone.  Sporting a 24-6 overall record and a national ranking of 13, the Knights are garnishing considerable attention from other teams with their eyes on Omaha.

The well-oiled baseball machine that calls The Berg home was not something that Coach Rooney inherited, it is something he has been crafting since setting foot in Orlando in 2009.  If growth and progress is the UCF theme, well Coach Rooney fits right into that agenda and the proof is in the numbers.

In 2009, with Rooney’s first bout as a head coach, after assistant coaching the LSU Tigers the year prior, the Knights managed a disheartening 22-35 record.  Rooney didn’t spare a moment and continued to mold his team into the contenders he knew they could be.  The 2010 season had a nearly polar opposite result as the Knights finished 33-22, but Rooney had more work to do.

Building on his record flip from the prior season, the 2011 Knights got a little taste of what Coach Rooney has been cooking with a regular season sweep of the top ranked Florida Gators and a trip to the NCAA CWS Regional in Tallahassee, backed by a 39-23 record.

Just what exactly is Coach Rooney cooking though? Rooney has made it clear since his tenure began here at UCF that he will stop at nothing to craft and coach a team to the College World Series in Omaha.  After the Regional and Super Regional portion of the CWS, making it to Omaha is the equivalent of making it to the Elite-8 in the March Madness basketball tournament.

The 2012 Knights are primed to make a serious run at punching their tickets to Omaha this year.  There is no question that UCF has the talent to accomplish such a feat, but baseball is all about having the right pieces in the right place.

The biggest question the Knights have faced this year has been getting the right pitching rotation.  Coach Rooney, being a pitcher in college and the Knights pitching coach, has toiled with the order all season long trying to find the right balance.

While the back end of the bullpen has been well established all season, set-up man Roman Madrid and closer Joe Rogers have been nearly unhittable with the respective ERA’s of 0.38 and 1.14. It’s the starting rotation that has been the biggest riddle.

Brian Adkins came into this season projected to be the No. 1 guy after finishing last season with 88 innings pitched and an ERA of 4.23, but Adkins has been inconsistent thus far.

Ben Lively has grown into a very effective pitcher with a 4-0 record, 3.44 ERA and a team high 38 strikeouts.  The team will rely on Lively continuing to improve and put up quality starts as the season continues.

Freshman Garrett Nuss has been outstanding as a middle inning reliever this season.  Coach Rooney has really found a niche for him as he boasts an ERA of 1.67 with 30 strikeouts over 27 innings pitched.  Garrett will come in during the fourth, fifth or sixth inning if a starter finds himself in a jam, and so far, few pitchers have been better at working out of the mess.

Eric Skoglund is another freshman who stands at a towering 6’7″ and has a significant presence on the mound.  His 4-1 record is backed up by his 2.15 ERA and 30 strikeouts as well.  The performances of Skoglund and Nuss have been pivotal in the success of the Knights this season.

While early in the season it seems like the Knights may have had too many choices at pitcher to find the ideal set up, they have hit their stride and Coach Rooney seems to have made all of the right moves. After holding eighth ranked Miami to only one run to earn a win in Coral Gables, it seems like anything is possible for this year’s Knights team.

If the bats continue to pop and the pitchers continue to keep teams on their heels, this is a Knights squad that can shake things up in the CWS at years end.  While the Knights are anxious to play for whatever they can at the end of the season, they aren’t getting ahead of themselves and continue to focus on one game at a time.

Next up at the plate is back-to-back home games starting with Florida A&M Tuesday night at 6:30 and Wednesday night against Bethune-Cookman at 6:30.

This years Knights have the potential to be something special; don’t miss out.

“We talked before the game about toughness,” head coach Terry Rooney said in a press release from UCFAthletics.com. “A lot of the time it is about finding a will and a way. We made the comment, ‘whatever it takes’ and the guys did that today against a very good Houston team with an outstanding starting pitcher.”

After a first inning lead off home run, Ronnie Richardson gave the Knights exactly what they needed in the 10th to break a 1-1 tie game. With one out, Richardson singled to center field, and then motored all the way to third on a Darnell Sweeney single through the second base gap.

D.J. Hicks brought the go ahead run home with his second single of the game, and Chris Taladay chalked up an insurance run to give the Knights a 3-1 lead that would seal the deal. Taladay went three-for-five as the Knights top five batters accounted for all 10 hits in the game.

Joe Rogers notched his second win of the season, coming in to start the eighth inning and striking out three batters over his three innings of lock down pitching. Roy Hanson started the game and pitched 5.2 innings of one-run ball before Roman Madrid set up Rogers by retiring four straight and adding two strikeouts to his resume.

The win puts the Knights on a four-game win streak, winning 10 of the last 11 games, before they travel to Coral Gables for a second chance at taking down the Miami Hurricanes. Last time, the Knights and the No. 8 ranked Canes faced off was three weeks ago when UCF surrendered an eighth inning run and lost 3-2.

UCF will look to record their first win over a top-10 team this season at 6 p.m. on Wednesday night at Mark Light Field against the Hurricanes.

Coach Rooney has made it clear, however, that his mission since setting foot in Orlando in 2009 is to make it all the way to Omaha.

If the Knights are going to make it past the NCAA Regional for the first time in program history, they will need to play top-notch baseball from this point forward.

Let’s see where the Knights stack up right now.

Hitting:

While the Knights overall batting average of .294 is good enough for third in Conference-USA,  it is the productivity of the Knights order that has them boasting one of the most potent batting orders in all of college baseball. Led by D.J. Hicks’ 38 RBIs, the second most in the nation, UCF shares the No. 11 spot for most runs scored in the nation, and leads C-USA, at 182.

Part of this can be attributed to UCF leading C-USA in both walks and stolen bases. The fact that five of UCF’s hitters boast a slugging percentage and on-base percentage north of .400 and no hitter has an on-base percentage less than .300 means that UCF will put up runs, consistently.

On an individual level, key players have stepped up for the Knights to solidify their strong batting order. Most notably has been the explosion of Alex Friedrich into the mix, who cannot seem to cool off. His .380 batting average and .663 slugging percentage make him a nightmare for opposing teams, especially while being surrounded by hitters all capable of the same numbers.

Travis Shreve, with a .378 BA and .500 slugging percentage, anchors the Knights from the nine hole of the lineup. He adds consistency to the bottom of the order, and kick starts big innings by getting the top of the Knights order back up to bat when teams are hoping for an easy out. On another note, he has only struck out six times this season.

Hitting Grade: A

Pitching:

The UCF pitching staff works as one cohesive unit, and therefore is difficult to categorize into starters versus strictly bullpen players. On any given night, five to six pitchers can be used while only allowing a couple runs. While Roman Madrid and Joe Rogers are clearly UCF’s aces at the end of games, Rogers ranked second in C-USA and tied for 15th for saves in the nation, UCF needs to better define their rotation of starters.

Inconsistency plagues the Knights brave enough to start the game. All too often a pitcher has thrown smoke one night, only to get the start again and be tagged for six runs by the second inning. Inexperience is one reason for this.

Freshman pitchers Garrett Nuss and Eric Skoglund have been given significant roles this season and both have performed very well. Nuss has become a very strong middle-inning pitcher, but has yet to record a start. Skoglund, on the other hand, has recorded four starts and has a 3-1 record. Aside from a trashing from ECU, the 6’7″ pitcher has pitched very well with his role.

Ray Hanson has the teams best ERA at 1.69, but has only started four games with a 2-1 record. If he can take on a more prominent role while maintaining those numbers, he just might be the starter UCF needs to lock down a series.

Brian Adkins is UCF’s returning ace and is clearly the workhorse of the bunch, leading the team with eight starts and 41 innings pitched. While he has recently gotten back to form, his 4.61 ERA leaves plenty of room for improvement.

Ben Lively leads the team in strikeouts with 34, and has recorded six starts with a 3-0 record. As it stands with UCF’s chaotic rotation, Lively would appear to be the No. 2 starter, and should continue to blossom in that spot.

The UCF pitching crew has a double-edged problem. Inconsistency makes it tough for coaches to set a rotation, however pitchers are creatures of habit and need a consistent rotation to be able to get in a rhythm. By this point in the season, the pitchers roles should be more clearly defined, however the versatility of the crew makes it difficult to do without limiting a players’ potential.

If a rhythm can be found in the next few weeks, this could become an even more threatening force than it has shown it can be.

Pitching Grade: B-

Fielding:

Coach Rooney is a stickler for good defensive play. The way he coaches pitchers relies on having a strong defensive unit to back the pitcher up. While UCF’s .971 fielding percentage is a solid number, 29 errors committed is a much larger number than a team of UCF’s caliber should be committing.

Darnell Sweeney has been notorious for errors in past seasons; this season he is tied for second in C-USA with nine. With that said, he fields his position very well and should not be under the lens for a possible replacement.

Many of the errors committed have been miscues in communication and if the Knights can improve on that, it will make a world of difference, especially when it comes to solidifying UCF’s pitching rotation.

Fielding Grade: B+

Overall Grade And Summary:

The Knights are playing good baseball. There is no doubt about it. Of their six losses, four of them came against top-10 teams. A promising fact is that while being ranked 16th in the nation, the Knights have plenty of room for improvement, and Coach Rooney and players will be the first ones to tell you that.

A solid pitching rotation is what separates the men from the boys in college baseball, and the Knights are right on the cusp of having a deadly rotation of throwers. So far this season, their batting has been able to make up the difference and carry them, but it will not be enough in the postseason. The Knights will face top-10 teams again and looking at those four losses, a late run or two surrendered was the difference.

Overall Grade: A-

The Knights saw their six-game winning streak come to an end but not before winning the series in the two days prior.

“Are we going to lose games? Of course, I’m disappointed in the way we lost today,” UCF Coach Terry Rooney said after the game.  “We did not execute our game plan one bit today, unfortunately.”

While the ECU bats hit hard, it was the pitching of RHP Jharel Cotton that was the most devastating factor in the game to shutdown the Knights.

Cotton tossed a career-high 11 strikeouts against one of the premier batting orders in the nation.  After the Knights put up 16 hits and 10 runs the night before, Cotton held the club to only two runs on 10 hits over seven innings, preventing the Knights from finding a rhythm.

Alex Friedrich went 3-for-4 with another home run in an encore of his wall-banging performance last night.  Travis Shreve extended his hitting streak to eight games, while Ryan Breen and D.J. Hicks each recorded a pair of hits.

“Alex Friedrich is playing awesome, he’s doing it all. He’s doing it offensively and defensively,” said Coach Rooney. “He’s been a catalyst for us in a lot of ways.”

It was all ECU, seeking retribution for the first two games of the series, from that point on.

John Wooten gave the Pirates a runner with a lead off single to start the second inning.  An error on third basemen Tommy Williams followed by a balk from Skoglund put the Pirates at second and third.  Jay Cannon hit a two-out two-strike single to right to bring home two runs, giving the Pirates another early lead.  ECU scored first in each of the last two games.

Jack Reinheimer hit a lead off single to start the third and gave the Pirates back-to-back lead off runners.  Tim Younger hit a deep double to score Reinheimer and two straight walks led to bases loaded for ECU with only one out.  Coach Rooney pulled the plug on Skoglund and brought in freshman RHP Garrett Nuss.  A fielder’s choice RBI gave the Pirates a 4-0 lead before Nuss could get out of the inning.

ECU continued to stretch their lead in the fourth inning with a double and a two out single from Younger to create a five run deficit for the Knights.

Jharel Cotton was pitching a gem at this point, only surrendering one hit through four innings until Friedrich stepped up and recorded his second hit of the game.  Friedrich hit a solo home run into the UCF bullpen to put the Knights on the board, but UCF still trailed 5-1.

ECU loaded the bases with only one out in the fifth inning to keep the pressure on the UCF bullpen and forced Coach Rooney to go to RHP Bryan Brown to try and keep the game within reach.  Brown had not pitched since opening night, but delivered two huge outs to keep the Knights in the game.

Cotton continued to punish UCF hitters, after five innings he had struck out the lead off man in all five frames. Shreve singled to center and Ronnie Richardson hit a deep double to put a man on second and third as UCF started to threaten for the first time in the game.

A Darnell Sweeney single scored a run and put Knights at the corners until Sweeney was caught stealing and Hicks struck out to end the inning with only one run. The one run was a small price for Cotton to pay for what could have been a game-changing inning for the Knights.

Friedrich robbed what would have been a two-run homerun, but a run still scored from third in the sixth inning to put the Pirates up 6-2.

Chris Taladay gave the Knights their first lead off runner in the bottom of the sixth with a single to right field. Friedrich then hit a tough bouncer right up the middle for an infield hit with no outs.  Taladay was picked off by the catcher and two more outs left the Knights still grappling with a four run hole.

The Pirates blew up the Knights hopes of a comeback in the seventh when a lead off walk was driven to third off a single and a safety squeeze bunt brought the run home.  Back-to-back two-out singles each drove in another run and the icing on the cake was a two-run Corey Thompson home run to put the Pirates up 11-2 once the smoke settled.

Adding insult to injury, the Pirates tacked on four more runs in the top of the ninth to put the Pirates up 15-2.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Knights managed to load the bases and a Hicks double brought in two runs.  A sacrifice ground ball brought home one more and a sacrifice fly from Friedrich brought home Hicks.  While a 13-run comeback would have been nice, the rally was ended at four runs to only cushion the blowout score.

The Knights will play multiple games away from home for the first time this season, starting with a Tuesday night game at FAU before playing a three-game series at Houston next weekend.

After the Knights pulled out a close 2-1 victory in a pitchers duel Friday night against the Pirates to open Conference-USA play, this afternoon was an arms race as both teams displayed their explosive line-ups as they traded the lead six times.

The Knights put up 16 hits, including three home runs.  Alex Friedrich was a double away from the cycle as he went 4-for-5 with two RBIs. Chris Taladay and D.J. Hicks combined for five hits and three RBIs.  Darnell Sweeney had three RBIs, scored twice and had two hits as well.

“Hitting is contagious, it feels great and when one guy gets a hit, you feel great going out there,” Ryan Breen said. “Once everyone started hitting it, it just kept going.”

Breen had his first home run of the season, going 3-for-3, scoring twice and contributing two runs batted in.

Knights reliever Chris Matulis stepped up in a big way when UCF starting pitcher Ben Lively had to take a seat after only one and tw0-thirds innings pitched, in addition to giving up four runs.  Matulis struck out seven batters and allowed only one earned run over four and one-third innings pitched.

“Chris has really done a great job out of the pen for us; he’s consistently done very good.  That’s what you talk about, the team picking each other up. Ben didn’t have his best stuff today, but Chris did a good job,” UCF head coach Terry Rooney said after the game.

In the bottom of the first, UCF batters loaded the bases on three straight singles with two outs, but were unable to capitalize after a Nick Carrillo pop-up ended the inning.

Drew Reynolds of ECU gave the Pirates an early lead on a right field chalk skimmer that allowed John Wooten to score all the way from first.  Reynolds scored on a deep Ben Fultz sacrifice fly.  An error on Sweeney allowed ECU to score once more.

The Knights committed two errors in the inning and the errors were the first two of the series.

The Knights and Pirates combined for five errors after a flawless game last night.

Lively walked two straight batters to load the bases and then surrendered another run.  Coach Rooney wouldn’t see anymore, pulling Lively and giving the ball to LHP Chris Matulis, who got the Knights the final out they needed.  The damage had been done, however, as the Pirates took an early four-run lead off of only three hits.

Breen responded with a clutch lead off single and Travis Shreve knocked a double up the middle to put a man at second and third.  Sweeney split the shortstop gap with a bullet to bring home Breen and Shreve, who ignored the third base coaches stop signal.

Right on cue, D.J. Hicks stepped up to the plate and smacked his seventh home run of the season over the centerfield wall. Hicks leads the conference with 35 RBIs and is third in the nation with that mark. The Knights lineup responded swiftly and effectively to tie the game up at four after two innings.

In the top of the third inning, the umpires called a rain delay as a light drizzle turned into a full shower, causing fans to flee for cover.

After the short rain delay, UCF got back on the gas with a Breen RBI double to score Friedrich, taking a 5-4 lead after three innings.

The Pirates tied the game at 5-5 after a bases loaded fielders choice hit by Wooten scored a run.  The inning featured a controversial call overturned after ECU coach Billy Godwin appealed on a close play at first, spurring a Coach Rooney reaming of the home plate and first base umpires.

The Pirates tacked on another run in the fifth when a close play at home allowed Tim Younger to score after jarring a ball loose from Breen’s glove at the plate.

Friedrich tied the game back up with a solo shot over the left field wall, and Breen reclaimed the lead for the Knights one out later with his first career homerun.

In the top of the seventh, Ronnie Richardson chased down a deep fly ball, turned and put a 300 foot throw on the dime to get the double play on the tag at third as third basemen Chris Taladay somersaulted over runner Zach Wright to just barely get the tag in time.  The play received a thunderous ovation from the crowd.

Friedrich’s bat continued to glow red-hot with a triple off the wall to score Hicks for his fourth hit on four appearances on the night.  The Knights led 8-6 with two frames left to play.

The Knights continued to build on their lead in the eighth with an RBI from Sweeney and Taladay to stretch the lead to 10-6. UCF relief pitcher Roman Madrid shut down the Pirates to seal the victory for the Knights.

The Knights will look to sweep the series tomorrow afternoon at one o’clock at The Berg as the UCF Knights continue to heat up and play top-notch ball.

Canes fans came out in mass, as did the Knights faithful in a grudge match that had emotions running high throughout the entire game.

Ronnie Richardson responded to being placed in the nine spot the game prior by going 3-for-3 at the plate, with one RBI and a walk. Nick Carrillo had another solid outing, with two hits and one RBI. Clutch hitting was not in the recipe as the Knight hit into three double plays.

“Our guys battled like crazy, we got the tying run on the field and the winning run at the plate, and that’s all you can ask for. Regardless of how you played earlier in the game, when you get to that ninth inning, that’s all you can ask for,” UCF coach Terry Rooney said.

Miami set the tone early by taking a 1-0 lead off a Peter O’Brien infield sacrifice RBI. Tyler Palmer scored after being hit by a pitch on a 0-2 count, and advanced to third while trying to steal second on a throwing error.

Travis Shreve knocked a double into deep left and motored around first for a lead off double.  He advanced to third on a Sweeney groundout.  Richardson earned a walk to put runners at the corners for Hicks. With one out, Hicks grounded into a double play to bail out Miami starter Steven Ewing.

O’Brien countered with a lead off double of his own.  Things escalated quickly when a single from Rony Rodriguez sent O’Brien into a pickle between home and third.  O’Brien turned and charged UCF catcher Ryan Breen, who was waiting with the ball for the out, and hit him like a NFL fullback.

Following the collision, both benches cleared, UCF’s army led by a fired up Coach Rooney and Shreve, and the teams went face-to-face with each other for several minutes before umpires broke up the chaos.  Miami catcher Peter O’Brien was ejected from the game and by this point, fans on both sides were all sorts of fired up.

Breen held onto the ball for the out.

Alex Friedrich lined to left field for a lead off single, stole second, and was driven home on a Nick Carrillo single to tie the game at 1-1. Shreve replaced Carrillo’s spot on first by batting into a fielder’s choice, and was driven home by a sky scrapping triple to the right field corner from Richardson.  After five innings played, UCF led 2-1.

With one swing of the bat, Miami’s Tyler Palmer tied the game back up with a bomb over the left field wall against UCF reliever Roman Madrid. Madrid shut down three in a row to end the inning but with three frames left to play, the scored was tied at two a piece.

The top of the eighth featured a lead off single for Miami and an error fielding a bunt committed by Chris Taladay that put a Cane in each corner with no outs.  With a tie game hanging in the balance, Madrid struck out one and was relieved by Joe Rogers.

Miami’s Dale Carey hit a line drive to right field that was robbed by a diving catch from Friedrich.  The double play was completed because the runner on first did not tag, but the runner on third was declared to have crossed the plate before the double play ended the inning, giving the Canes a 3-2 lead.

With time running out and the Knights at a one-run deficit, Richardson gave the Knights a chance with a lead off single. Two fly outs later, Ryan Breen took the plate, but Richardson was caught stealing to end the threat.

Breen started the ninth inning off right, by reaching on an infield bouncer that Miami second baseman Stephen Perez bobbled. Austin Johnston came in for the Knights and pinch-hit a bunt to advance Breen to second.  A strikeout and a groundout later left the Knights 0-4 against top 20 teams this season.

The game was well fought but at the end of the day it’s another big time win the Knights could not hold on to.

The next contest for UCF is a three-game series against Harvard to be played this weekend at Jay Bergman. First pitch of the series is at 6:30 p.m.

The Knights dismantled the Siena pitching staff in another display of their top-to-bottom batting threat.  The Knights currently lead Conference-USA in runs scored with 81 this season.

Nine Knights recorded hits and six recorded at least one RBI.  D.J. Hicks had two hits, one long bomb, three RBI’s and was walked twice. James Vasquez and Nick Carrillo each had a two-hit night as well.

“I feel good, the team looks good, we’re hitting the pitches we need to hit,” Hicks said. “We still need to do a better job with a guy on second, less than two outs, or maybe on third and driving them in.”

The Knights put the pressure on early, scoring one in the first inning.  Chris Taladay drove a sacrifice fly into deep right to score Darnell Sweeney, who reached base by earning a leadoff walk.

Backing up the run, Lively made his presence on the mound known by striking out two batters and beaning one in the hip.  The next batter was promptly retired on an infield bouncer.

In the top of the fourth inning, after giving up a walk and a double, third baseman Taladay dropped a routine infield pop-up, loading the bases with one out.  Lively struck out the next batter, and then walked Ken Kirshner to bring in the tying run.  After surrendering the run, Lively struck out Ryan Metzler to get out of the inning.

Siena returned the favor when Nick Carrillo batted into a double-play opportunity, with two men on and no outs, and Siena first baseman Ken Kirshner threw the ball away, allowing James Vasquez to score.

Travis Shreve hit a two-run single to right field but was thrown out at second.  He had reached first cleanly but assumed Siena would try to make a play at the plate, and he was gunned down by the cutoff man.

After four innings, UCF led 4-1.

James Vasquez added one more when Kirshner whiffed on a grounder hit right at him and outfielder Tyler Bell bobbled the ball. Ryan Breen was able to score all the way from first.

Freshman RHP Garrett Nuss started the sixth inning, relieving Lively, and retired three straight batters.  Lively allowed one run on five innings,             pitched and notched six strikeouts.  Nuss faced nine batters, recording three strikeouts and allowing only one hit.

Leading 5-1 in the bottom of the seventh, the Knights shredded the Siena pitchers for a six-run inning.  Alex Friedrich and Nick Carillo each had an RBI, and Carrillo scored from second on a passed ball.  The Saints used three different pitchers in the inning, the last getting the worst of it.

Taking the mound with two men already on, Matt Quintana faced Hicks.  The slugger launched the first pitch he saw over the centerfield wall for a three-run homer.

After the inning, with a 12-1 lead, the UCF bench became very busy as seven players came in off the bench to see some action of their own.

“Garrett (Nuss) did a great job,” Coach Terry Rooney said of Nuss’s middle inning relief. ”I told Garrett yesterday that he’s going to get the opportunity to be that guy, and I thought he did a very nice job tonight.”

The series continues tomorrow at 4 p.m., at Jay Bergman Field for Game 2 of the trilogy.