UCF baseball preview: UCF Staves Off Sweep With Sunday Win over LSU

CUSA Fans UCF sports correspondent Ryan Westin provides us with a recap of this past weekend's baseball series between UCF and LSU.

The Golden Knights were able to salvage one win in this past weekend's three game series against the LSU Tigers. UCF is now 4-7 on the year and will head home where it will play 17 consecutive games at Jay Bergman Field.

UCF vs. LSU - Game 1

In the Friday night game, LSU was able to take advantage of the plethora of errors committed by the Knights and collected a 4-1 win. UCF committed five errors in the game and LSU was able to get on the board first following a fielding error by Golden Knights’ third baseman Chris Duffy.

Shortstop Eric Kallstrom produced the only offense on the night for UCF when he hit a solo home run in the fifth inning to tie the game at 1-1. The Tigers went on to take the lead for good after another fielding error by the Knights’ third baseman Chris Duffy in the bottom of the fifth, which allowed LSU center fielder Jared Mitchell to score. UCF went on to make three more errors in the game and the “Bayou Bengals” opened the series with the 4-1 victory.

UCF vs. LSU - Game 2

In the Saturday match-up, the Knights fell behind early after left-handed pitcher Mitch Herold gave up three earned runs in 1.2 innings of work. Eric Kallstrom hit his second solo home run of the series in the third inning to pull his team within two at 4-2.

LSU went on to score nine unanswered runs—including three home runs—to extend its lead to 13-2. UCF plated four runs in the top of the ninth, but fell 13-6.

UCF vs. LSU - Game 3

In the final game of the series, the Knights received an excellent pitching performance by Jaager Good and were able to prevent the sweep. They also were the beneficiary of a strong all-around effort from center fielder Tyson Auer. Good went five innings in his starting appearance for UCF, striking out five batters while not allowing any earned runs. Auer led the Knights in batting as well as base running by going 3-of-4 at the plate while stealing two bases and scoring two runs.

The game was tied at four in the top of the eighth when UCF was able to get a base hit from Kiko Vazquez with one out in the inning. Ryan Richardson, who came on to pinch run for Vazquez, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Shane Brown was able to knock in the winning run with a double down the left field line, as Richardson scored to give UCF the 5-4 win.

Four In A Row
UCF has lost all four of its series opening games this season. The Knights also have won the last game of all four of their series this year, which accounts for the team’s win total.

Error
The Golden Knights have committed 31 errors through 11 games this seasons, which is an average of nearly three per contest.

Homecoming
Two Knights who transferred from LSU were able to return to Alex Box Stadium for the first time since their days as Tigers. Senior infieder Matt Horwath and sophomore pitcher Eric English saw action against their former team. Horwath played in all three games as the Knights’ designated hitter and finished the series batting 2-12 with an RBI against his former club. English appeared in Saturday’s game, pitching three innings while giving up two earned runs and striking out six.

Who's Next?
UCF will begin a 17-game homestand with a Tuesday night game against the Michigan Wolverines. The Knights will then host Monmouth for a three-game weekend series on March 2nd-4th. UCF will not play another road game until it travels to Stetson on March 27th.