UCF has begun to settle nicely into pitching roles.
Cre Finfrock, Robby Howell and now Juan Pimentel have set up a trio of solid options for their weekend series as conference play continues to wind through. One pitcher falters, the other two have found a way to pick the other up.
And sometimes the offense will step up and deliver for their pitching staff. As it did Sunday.
Matthew Mika delivered a single for the Knights’ second run of the eighth inning, proving to be the game winner in a 6-5 win over the Bulls at Jay Bergman Field on Sunday.
The Knights got down early as Pimentel gave up three runs in the first inning. But he settled down throughout the game and kept the Bulls at that number for much of the game.
Pimentel pitched six innings, giving up four runs and three earned runs. The offense picked him up even as he did not have his best stuff before he turned things over to the bullpen and Trent Thompson, who picked up the win in pitching the final three innings.
“We won the series, it was a great game and a total team win,” coach Terry Rooney told UCFKnights.com. “We talk all the time about Championship Sunday being about toughness and winning the last three innings. The guys did that and the manner in which they did it – coming back, two-out RBIs and holding on to the lead late – was awesome.”
The Knights scored two runs in three separate innings with Kam Gellinger, the only UCF hitter with two hits on the day, delivering a single down the line with two outs for a 4-3 lead the team did not relinquish.
The Knights broke a 4-4 tie in the eighth inning with Eugene Vazquez and Mika delivering hits in the Knights’ final inning at bat.
From there, Thompkins worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning with back-to-back pop ups to close the game.
The Knights improved to 20-18 and 5-4 in the American with another home series against Tulane this weekend at Jay Bergman Field.
