April 14, 2011

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By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com

ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - UCF will attempt to win its third-straight Conference USA road series when it travels to East Carolina this weekend. Game one against the Pirates will get underway Friday at 6 p.m.

Game Notes in PDF Format

Schedule:
Friday - Greenville, N.C. - 6 p.m.
Saturday - Greenville, N.C. - 5 p.m.
Sunday - Greenville, N.C. - 11 a.m.
Records:
East Carolina - 22-11 Overall, 4-5 C-USA
UCF - 21-12 Overall, 3-6 C-USA
Stadium:
Clark-LeClair Stadium (5,000)
Series:
ECU Leads, 17-5
Live Coverage:
UCFAthletics.com and Twitter.com/UCF_Baseball

Upcoming Opponent
-East Carolina enters the weekend ranked second in the country with a 1.91 ERA, and holds a 22-11 overall record with a 4-5 mark in C-USA.
-All 10 pitchers who have tossed at least 10.0 innings carry a 4.08 ERA or better.
-With the aluminum, Jack Reinheimer is the lone Pirate with an average above .300 (.317) as ECU is hitting .274.
-Zach Wright has provided more than half of the Pirates' homers (9-of-17) this year.

The Series
-East Carolina has taken at least two of three from the Knights in every C-USA series since UCF joined the league in 2006.
-UCF is 0-9 all-time on ECU's home field.
-The Black and Gold's only series victory over the Pirates was in 2003 in Orlando (two of three).
-ECU currently holds a 17-5 in the all-time series.

Individual Numbers vs. ECU
-In last year's three-game series at UCF, Jonathan Griffin hit two homers and Chris Taladay hit .462 at the plate.
-Nick Cicio started game three and picked up a complete-game 14-1 victory thanks to 7.0 innings of one-run ball.

Staying In Every Game
-UCF's last six games have all been decided by three runs or less.
-In UCF's 12 defeats this season, it has lost by a combined margin of just 35 runs, as its average loss is by only 2.9 runs per game.
-UCF has lost only three games by four runs or more.
-The Knights are 5-5 in one-run games and 1-2 in two-run games.
-Conversely, the Black and Gold is 12-2 in games decided by five runs or more, and is 19-4 when keeping teams to five runs or less.

Running is Overrated
-Senior first baseman Jonathan Griffin delivered another homer at Florida Atlantic April 12, marking the fourth-straight game he put one over the wall.
-It was the first time since Matt Horwath in 2005 that a Knight homered in four-consecutive games, and that is believed to be the UCF record (box scores from early seasons are unavailable).
-With the dinger at FAU, Griffin (eight) moved out in front of D.J. Hicks (seven) for the team lead.

Making Plays
-UCF's defense ranks 18th in the country in fielding percentage as it boasts a mark of .976, averaging less than an error per game.
-The 2001 team set the school record with a .973 fielding percentage.

Learning Their Lesson
-As a Freshman All-American, catcher Beau Taylor threw out 26 runners on the basepaths as opponents attempted to steal a total of 81 times against him.
-During his sophomore campaign, Taylor wiped out 12 runners in 63 attempts.
-And this year as a junior, teams have run on him just 32 times, with 10 being caught by Taylor's arm.
-Taylor also has limited the passed balls in 2011, committing only two. He posted nine in 2009 and five in 2010.

Freshman Taking Charge
-Beginning with his first start vs. No. 29 Alabama, a 12-4 Knights win, freshman Ben Lively has since produced a 5-0 record with a 2.44 ERA.
-Although he has not earned a decision in his last two outings, Lively has lasted at least 5.0 innings in all seven starts. That includes a win at No. 23 Rice which was his first Friday-night start.
-From 2006-10, UCF did not have a pitcher post more than five victories in a season, and Lively also is searching to become the first Knight since Ray Rodriguez in 2005 to hold a 6-0 record.
-Lively became the first Knight since Mitch Herold in 2008 to toss a nine-inning complete game and the first freshman since Mitch Houck in 2006 to record a complete game when he took down Wagner, 5-1, March 12.

Useless Stat of the Day
-Senior reliever Nick Cicio has at least one strikeout in 12 of his 13 appearances on the hill.