UCF spent much of Tuesday’s encounter with No. 1 Florida trying to keep the Florida Gators off the base paths. The Gators had all the firepower in that game as every player got a hit and got on base with UCF’s offense trying its best to keep up.
Wednesday’s return game in Gainesville was a much different story. The Knights’ pitching staff controlled the game as the offense tried to get off its feet.
The result though remained the same.
Florida swept its home-and-home series with UCF on Wednesday with a 4-0 win in at Alfred McKethan Stadium in Gainesville.
UCF actually outhit Florida 5-3 in the game, but could not bring any of them across home plate. The Knights were only able to scatter hits throughout the course of the game against the Gators’ pitching staff.
The Knights played out of a hole giving up the only earned run of the game on a leadoff home run to Dalton Guthrie. But the pitching staff held its own in a way it did not at Jay Bergman Field the night before.
Trent Thompson went four innings, giving up only four runs and three hits in four innings. Sam Crocker, Eric Hepple and Drew Faintich held the lead within striking distance throughout the game.
“A lot of positives came from the game. It starts on the mound by giving up three hits to the No. 1 team in the country,” head coach Terry Rooney told UCFKnights.com. “I thought our guys pitched very well. One of the great things is that it was a collective effort; a lot of guys were out there doing a terrific job.
The Gators though got three runs in the fourth inning on a three-run home run by Mike Rivera after two errors in the inning.
As coach Terry Rooney says, it often takes a team effort to win these kind of games. Ultimately the team’s miscues cost the team a chance to stay in contact.
But the good news is that in both games, UCF stood tall against the top team in the country. Florida did not win these games easily. The Gators had to scratch and claw.
So while the Knights could not get a win in this set, they should have some renewed confidence and focus on what it has to do to improve as a team before conference season begins.
UCF will have to recover now on a four-game losing streak against Rice this weekend and get back on the winning track.
