 "Photo: Monica Agatstein")
For the second straight game, the Knights exploded with a huge first inning, outdoing Saturday’s 10-run first against Hartford with an 11-run barrage en route to closing out the Hawks 24-4 to take two of three games at Jay Bergman Field this weekend.
In that explosive first, the Knights (9-7) wrapped 10 hits and got a grand slam from Derek Luciano, who returned to the lineup Saturday after not playing since Feb. 21.
But the Knights weren’t done there.
They tacked on three more runs the following inning, three more in the fourth and another in the fifth to take a commanding 18-1 lead on Hartford (2-2). Luciano and Shane Brown each had a solo shot in the fourth and Darnell Sweeney added one of his own in the fifth.
Luciano ended the day 3 for 3 with 6 RBI with two homeruns and was 7 for 12 with 8 RBI in the series.
The Hawks posted lone runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth but still trailed 18-4 and just when it looked as though the Knights were content with their 18 runs after posting a scoreless sixth and a scoreless seventh, they added six more runs in the eighth for good measure.
Every UCF player that got an at bat posted a hit, including subs, and nine Knights in all ended the day with at least two hits.
In the three games combined, UCF hammered 10 homeruns, collected 64 hits and crossed home 57 times, but at the same time allowed 25 runs in the series.
Though Nick Cicio did deliver a solid outing in the start to pick up his second win of the year. Cicio went 5.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on seven hits while striking out eight.
Saturday, the Knights split a doubleheader with the Hartford, falling 12-11 in game one but rebounding to romp the Hawks 22-9 in the nightcap.
Friday night’s game was postponed due to heavy rain, setting up Saturday’s doubleheader.
Chris Duffy pounded three homeruns to move his season total to nine through just 15 games after having six all of last year, while totaling 10 RBI on the day. Seven of Duffy’s RBI came in the nightcap, the second such time he has had seven RBI in a game this season.
"I knew I had the potential to have this success at the plate, but I've just got to keep it going throughout the season and do whatever I can do to help this team win," said Duffy in a press release. "I'm just trying to keep things simple at the plate, it's nothing magical. And I've matured as a hitter too, the more pitches you see you're able to develop into a good hitter."
But Duffy wasn’t the only Knight to have a big day at the plate. Chris Taladay scored eight runs, was 8 for 10 with three RBI and picked up his 2nd homerun of the year, while Brown and Luciano each had two hits in both games.
In the first game, the Hawks jumped out to 3-1 lead but the Knights went ahead 5-3 with a four-run fifth when Duffy and Beau Taylor each knocked out a solo shot off of Hawk’s starter Chris Greiner.
However, the Hawks responded with a big inning of their own, picking up six runs to take a 9-3 lead in the bottom half of the next inning, only to have the Knights answer that with another four run inning.
But in the eighth Hartford tacked on three runs and held on for the 12-11 win.In the second game, the Knights exploded with a 10 run first inning that buried the Hawks, who despite scoring nine runs, were never able to fully recover.
Hartford starter Steve Sobocinski walked the first four batters of the game and the Knights took full advantage.
Surprisingly Sobocinski lasted three innings, allowing 12 runs, yet only four of which were earned.
The Hawks got within 12-9 but the Knights tacked on 10 more runs from the fifth to eighth innings to end their six game losing streak.
Be the first to comment on this article!