• Final stats

The UCF Knights suffered back-to-back conference losses on the road to the UConn Huskies, but they rallied and put together a complete performance in a mid-week bout with the Miami Hurricanes.

On April 11, UCF (23-11, 4-5 in American Athletic Conference) shut out the Hurricanes (13-19) 4-0 in Coral Gables in front of 2,366 fans.

UCF’s shutdown performance was led by its pitching staff, as five pitchers allowed a combined two hits. Starter Cre Finfrock (3-0) earned the win after going 5.0 hitless innings, striking out seven and allowing three walks. Righty Thad Ward allowed UCF’s two hits in his 1.0 inning of work.

The Knights held a narrow, 1-0 lead entering the final inning but exploded for three runs with two outs in the top of the ninth to solidify their victory.

With two outs and center fielder Ray Alejo on second, Miami intentionally walked first baseman Rylan Thomas, UCF’s leader in home runs (eight) and RBIs (39). That gave way to second baseman Matthew Mika, who’s third in RBIs (24) for UCF, and his RBI base hit to bring home Alejo.

Mika and Thomas advanced on a passed ball before left fielder Tyler Osik singled up the middle to drive in both runners for the final score.

UCF broke a scoreless tie in the sixth inning when catcher Logan Heiser hit a sacrifice fly to center field to bring home Mika. The junior was in position to score thanks to his own efforts. He led off the inning with a single to right field before advancing to second on a groundout to the shortstop. Then, he stole third before Heiser’s flyout.

The Hurricanes had a chance to score in the third inning despite not recording a hit. Third baseman Raymond Gil drew a lead-off walk to start the bottom frame and stole second before advancing to third on a wild pitch. The effort ultimately ended in vain, though, as a fielder’s choice ended the inning.

Both of Miami’s hits came in the sixth inning. After a lead-off groundout, freshmen Willy Escala and Gabe Rivera hit back-to-back two-out singles. Senior Hunter Tackett, then, drew a full-count walk to load the bases before Ward struck out redshirt senior Michael Burns to end the inning.

Who’s Next?

The Knights will return to Orlando to host the Cincinnati Bearcats in another AAC weekend series. UCF and Cincinnati will have their first pitch on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at John Euliano Park.

For more on the Knights, as they look to rise above .500 in conference play, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.

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