• Final stats

ORLANDO, Fla. – After dropping two games earlier this week, the UCF Knights have made a statement.

“We wanted to get back into it,” center fielder Ray Alejo said after the game. “We had lost two games in a row, and especially with conference starting we wanted to really make a statement.”

The Knights (18-6, 1-0 in American Athletic Conference) convincingly beat the East Carolina Pirates (16-5, 0-1 in AAC) 9-1 at John Euliano Park in front of an announced crowd of 1,523 Friday night.

Sophomore Joe Sheridan (3-1) threw 101 pitches in 8.0 innings and struck out four batters. Sheridan allowed seven hits and one walk before being relieved by senior Eric Hepple in the ninth.

“We talked about Friday night guys need to do Friday night things, and that’s exactly what he did tonight,” UCF head coach Greg Lovelady said after the win. “He gave us an unbelievable start—competed like crazy.”

The Pirates sent sophomore Trey Benton (4-2) to the mound to start. Benton allowed five runs and six hits in 5.0 innings while walking just one batter and striking out three batters before being relieved by redshirt senior West Covington.

UCF started to run away with the game when senior Logan Heiser singled down the left side to start the fifth inning and advanced to second after a sacrifice bunt by right fielder Brody Wofford. After third baseman Jackson Webb was hit by a pitch, both runners were able to advance.

After shortstop Brandon Hernandez was walked, the bases were loaded with one out and the game tied 1-1. A passed ball allowed runners to advance and Heiser to run home, giving the Knights their first lead of the night, 2-1.

Then, Alejo belted a ball to center field, reaching second base off a throwing error and bringing two runners in. First baseman Rylan Thomas batted Alejo home with a single up the middle on a full count to enhance the Knights’ lead to 5-1. Alejo credits his four RBI night on his teammates reaching base before him.

“It was a good night. My teammates got me in a position to really put up some runs on the board and I just passed the bags—what we talk about every day—and trust the process,” Alejo said. “So, I just stayed within myself and just got it done.”

The Knights continued their scoring onslaught the next inning starting with a single through the left side by sophomore Dallas Beaver. A sacrifice bunt by Heiser allowed him to reach second base. Webb was then walked and Hernandez was hit by a pitch, giving the Knights loaded bases with two outs and prompting a pitching change by the Pirates.

The pitching shakeup didn’t slow the Knights down, though, as Alejo once again brought two runners in with a single down the middle to bring the Knights’ lead to 7-1. Left fielder Chandler Robertson hit a single to right field to advance Alejo to third and bring Hernandez home. Thomas gave the Knights a 9-1 lead with a single through the right side before second baseman Matthew Mika ended the sixth inning with a pop fly to the left.

Having a cushion on the scoreboard helped  Sheridan’s confidence in the next couple innings.

“Picking up the four runs in back to back innings was huge for me,” Sheridan said after the win. “Just to go out there and be confident and keep throwing the ball in the strike zone like I was. And it was good for our offense to see that. I think that was the most complete game we’ve played all year.”

It wasn’t always a one-sided game, though. The Pirates opened the scoring in the fourth inning with three singles in a row. The hitting started with Pirates catcher Jake Washer reaching first off a hit down the left field line. Washer advanced to third when sophomore Spencer Brickhouse singled to the right.

Third baseman Connor Litton allowed Washer to score the first run of the night with a single to right field and the Pirates had a 1-0 lead with one out and two on base. Center fielder Brady Lloyd reached first base off of a hit, but Brickhouse was tagged out at home.

Then, both base runners stole bases and senior Andrew Henrickson was walked to load the bases with two outs. Three Pirates were left on base to end the inning, though, when sophomore Nick Barber was called out at first after a bunt was scooped up by Heiser to end the fourth inning with a 1-0 Pirates lead.

UCF responded in the bottom of the inning starting with an Alejo single through the left side. Alejo advanced to second when Robertson was tagged out at first. Thomas then singled through the left side to advance Alejo to third before Alejo reached home off a sacrifice fly by Mika to right field. The inning ended tied up 1-1 and the Knights ran away with the game afterwards.

Who’s Next?

The Knights meet the Pirates at the same time and same place tomorrow for game two of the three game series. The conference foes will play at John Euliano Park at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

For more on the Knights, as they look to defend their conference title, follow Tommy Cardinal on Twitter at @NDR_TomCardinal.