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Baseball Drops First Home Series of the Year in 10-1 Loss to ECU
 
Jay Bergman Field witnesses 3,709 fans come out to the park for the weekend, the third-largest attended series in stadium history.
 
 
 
Dwayne Bailey tries to turn two vs. ECU Sunday.
 
Dwayne Bailey tries to turn two vs. ECU Sunday.
 
 

March 30, 2008

Final Stats

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ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - East Carolina scored five runs in the fifth inning in a 10-1 victory over the No. 19 UCF baseball team Sunday at Jay Bergman Field. The Pirates (18-7, 3-3) captured two of three games in the series against the Knights (22-6, 2-4), as the Black and Gold lost its first three-game home series of 2008.

Sunday's game vs. ECU marked the midway point of the season for the Knights.

ECU starter Justin Bristow (4-1) scattered seven UCF singles in 8.0 innings, striking out eight and not walking a batter. For the Knights, juniors Colin Arnold and Eric Kallstrom each recorded two hits in the loss.

A run in the first provided ECU with an early 1-0 lead, then junior starting pitcher Mitch Herold gave up a single and walked three in the fifth to make it 2-0. Later in the inning, Corey Kemp lined a two-run single up the middle with one down and the Pirates batted around to plate two more runs to take a 6-0 advantage.

Ryan Wood made it 7-0 on a solo shot to left in the sixth, his eighth dinger of the year, while ECU added a pair of runs in the seventh and one more in the ninth to grab the win. UCF freshman Stephen Branca spoiled the Pirates' bid at a shutout, driving in senior Tim Russell on an infield single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. It was Branca's first collegiate hit.

The Knights wrap up a five-game home stand when they host USF Tuesday and Florida Gulf Coast Wednesday. Both contests get underway at 6:30 p.m.

Season tickets as well as single-game tickets to check out UCF baseball this year are currently available by contacting the UCF Ticket Office at 407-823-1000, or by going online at www.ucfathletics.com, the official site for UCF varsity sports. Also check out UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.

Game Notes
East Carolina - 17-8 Overall, 3-3 Conference USA
No. 19 UCF - 22-6 Overall, 2-4 Conference USA
WP: Justin Bristow (4-1), 8.0 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K
LP: Mitch Herold (2-2), 4.1 IP, 3 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 6 BB, 4 K
- A total of 3,709 fans came out to the three-game series vs. East Carolina (including 1,061 Sunday), which was the third-largest series since Jay Bergman Field opened in 2001. It was the largest attended series since a record 5,139 fans came out to see UCF battle No. 2 LSU in 2004.
- Josh Siebenaler swiped his 12th base of the season, while Colin Arnold stole No. 7 and Stephen Branca notched his first of his career. UCF has now stolen at least two bases in a game 15 times.
- The Knights' home record moved to 19-3.
- Matt Manning struck out two batters in his inning of work in the eighth.
- Shane Brown was hit by a pitch for the 11th time to tie for 11th most in a single-season. It also was his 14th hit by pitch in just two years with the Knights, which tied for 12th on the UCF career chart.
- Sunday marked the first time UCF was shutout since an 8-0 loss at No. 6 Rice April 22, 2007.