UCF needed to establish its Friday starter to have any chance of making waves this season on the diamond. The Knights piecemeal rotation still is finding out where they all fit in. Cre Finfrock is the only holdover with any real starting experience and the expectation to take a bigger step forward.
The Knights have to take advantage of his starts and start their weekends right for sure.
So far, UCF has been able to string together hits when needed. It started with last week’s opener when the team came from behind for a victory. And the offense has kept rolling. Pitching has done enough to maintain leads as the team strung together what it needed on its way to an undefeated start to the year.
Finfrock took his turn on the mound and delivered for UCF, giving the offense all the cushion it needed.
The sophomore struck out 10 batters in giving up one run in seven innings in a 4-3 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday. Campbell Scholl conceded some runs but Harrison Hukari came in and shut the door with the final out and the tying run at second. UCF’s four-run fourth inning stood up.
“These guys are a great team and are playing together, picking each other up and being positive,” head coach Terry Rooney told UCFKnights.com. “Those are a lot of great qualities. It is early in the year, but they have definitely demonstrated the ability to come from behind and hold leads.
“It starts with Cre Finfrock. I thought that it was one of the best outings of his career. He mixed his pitches and did a tremendous job.”
Brennan Bozeman and Ryan Crile each hit two-run singles in the fourth inning. Crile went 2 for 3 on a day UCF could not get the same hits it has throughout the early part of this season.
Yet, with each game, UCF has found a way.
This was undoubtedly UCF’s best performance from a starting pitcher. And while the lead was given away an the Knights struggled to find offense outside the burst in the fourth inning, they took advantage of their opportunities and shut the door on the mound.
At 6-0, UCF is rolling and finding a way to win every game. The Knights are back in action Saturday against Texas State in Corpus Christi, Texas.
[…] UCF baseball suffered its first losses of the young season with a 2-1 defeat to Texas State and a 6-2 loss to Michigan State in Corpus Christi, Texas this weekend. That capped off a 1-2 weekend following Cre Finfrock’s stellar performance Friday. […]