Golden Knights to entertain No. 15 Horned Frogs

CUSA Fans UCF sports correspondent Ryan Westin provides a UCF baseball update.

UCF baseball returns to action this Friday at Jay Bergman Field, taking on former Conference USA squad, No. 15 TCU. The Golden Knights are coming in after splitting last weekend’s season opening series with Florida International.

TCU comes to Orlando to open their season on road in a three game series starting Friday at 6:30. The Knights finish the weekend’s games at 6:30 PM on Saturday and a 1:00 PM game to wrap up the series.

The Scouting Report:
The Golden Knights will have their hands full as TCU, ranked 15th in the country comes to town and is hoping to build off its impressive 2006 season. The Horned Frogs participated in their third straight NCAA Regional where they were eliminated by host Oklahoma. TCU tallied a

39-23 record in 2006 in their inaugural season in Mountain West Conference action and claimed a third straight conference tournament title. TCU and UCF met up last season in Forth Worth at Lupton Stadium. The Golden Knights won two of the three contest last year to win the series, 2-1.

Head coach Jim Schlossnagle, who led his squad to the school’s first regular season conference title in twelve years (1994), leads the Horned Frogs. Schlossnagle is starting his fourth season at TCU and led his squad to the program's first ever conference tournament title in his first year as head coach in 2003.

TCU last season was 21-16 in action played outside of the gates of Lupton Stadium.

"Friendly Confines"
The Golden Knights enter this weekend’s series with an all-time record of 126-44 (.741) at Jay Bergman Field since it opened in 2001.

Not going any where for a while
The Golden Knights are at home for 24 of their first 27 games

Against the Top 25 in 2006
Last season, UCF was unable to defeat a ranked opponent at home, finishing with a record of 0-4 against opponents in the top 25. In 2006, the Golden Knights posted a 1-9 mark against ranked teams as they adapted to their first season in Conference USA.

Up Next
The Golden Knights stay at home next weekend as they play host for a three game series on Feb.16-18 with the Maryland Terrapins. The Golden Knights do not leave their humble abode of Orlando until they travel to Baton Rouge on February 23 rd for a three-game set with perennial powerhouse LSU at Alex Box Stadium.

Westin’s UCF Baseball Prediction

TCU wins the series 2-1