As the UCF Knights baseball team approaches the midpoint of their season, its time to give the squad a midterm evaluation. Boasting a 21-6 overall record, the 16th ranked Knights have at very least met the high expectations set by Coach Terry Rooney going into the 2012 season, following a successful 2011 season that featured a trip to the NCAA Regional.
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-
