• Final stats

ORLANDO, Fla. – The UCF Knights had just concluded their worst start in over a decade, losing to Stetson University in a narrow, 1-0 loss on the road and falling to 1-3 on the season.

A new start was needed, and that’s what the Knights got when they opened their second weekend series with Savannah State University Friday night at John Euliano Park. For the first time since UCF’s season-opener on Feb. 16, the Knights won, shutting out the Tigers 4-0 in front of 1,279 fans.

The Knights tied their season-high in hits (nine) and committed no errors.

“Good win. Took some steps forward offensively,” second-year Knights head coach Greg Lovelady said after the win. “Pitching staff, again, really did a phenomenal job… Got ahead. They were super-aggressive. Just did a good job of keeping the ball down, elevating late and utilizing the off-speed stuff when we needed it.”

Righty Chris Williams made his second start of the season and also earned his second win on the year. He pitched 7.0 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts, allowing four hits and a walk.

In relief, Cre Finfrock and JJ Montgomery combined for 2.0 scoreless, hitless innings and four strikeouts.

“I just think [Williams] was much more like himself, today, mentally and just with repeating the delivery,” Lovelady said. “And obviously when you do that, the pitches are a lot easier to execute.”

UCF scored in back-to-back innings starting in the third and fourth and ending in the sixth and seventh. The Knights’ first run came off clutch, two-out hitting. After Brandon Hernandez popped up to second and Matthew Mika flied out to right, Ray Alejo got into scoring position with a knock down the left-field line.

Sophomore Rylan Thomas, then, sent a base hit to the left, also, driving in Alejo for a 1-0 lead.

In the fourth, catcher Logan Heiser drove in Dalton Wingo from third after Wingo hit one of his two doubles in the game and advanced to third on a wild pitch.

Tyler Osik homered to lead off the bottom half of the sixth, a wild pitch allowed Thomas to score from third for the Knights’ fourth and final run in the seventh.

“Definitely anxious to get back out here, but, me, I’m more anxious to get back on, like, weekdays and practices,” Wingo said after the win. “We definitely have stuff to work on. We took pride in practice last week…leading up, so just trying to, like, get rid of fly balls and more balls on the ground.”

UCF’s bullpen gave the Tigers no room for a comeback.

Montgomery smothered his three batters, earning his two strikeouts on 0-2 counts. Finfrock struck out his first and third batters, both striking out swinging.

Who’s Next?

The Knights will play Savannah State twice more this weekend, hosting the Tigers at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday and at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

For more on the Knights, as they continue their series with Savannah State, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.

To contact Victor, you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com.