ORLANDO, Fla. – Parker Perez and Dakota Julylia each tabbed three hits, but UCF prevailed 6-3 Wednesday evening at Jay Bergman Field. The loss moved Jacksonville's record to 29-18 while UCF is 25-25.
"We had our opportunities to extend the momentum that we had last night," said Head Coach Tim Montez. "We pitched well enough for the most part but didn't always make pitches when we had to. We've got to do a better job of being prepared mentally for a very scrappy and dangerous NJIT team this weekend that will come in playing free and easy."
The Dolphins drew first blood with a couple of runs in the second. Seth DeWitt was hit by a pitch and Sam Armstrong singled to start the action. Julylia sacrifice bunted both runners over, and Mike Cassala grounded out to short to score Jacksonville's first run. Two batters later, Perez beat out a grounder to second for an infield single that scored Armstrong.
An inning later, Julylia capitalized on a bases-loaded situation with an RBI single to centerfield. He was setup by a JJ Gould single, another DeWitt hit-by-pitch, and an Angel Camacho walk.
UCF found the scoreboard in the fourth when the Knights plated two. Luke Hamblin singled and Ryan Crile grounded out to produce the RBIs in the frame. Chris Gau replaced starter Spencer Stockton after he went 3.2 innings with two runs, eight hits, no walks, and four strikeouts. Gau was successful with a critical bases-loaded strikeout to end the Knights' threat and preserve the lead.
Hamblin proved troublesome again in the fifth with a two-run single that gave UCF the lead for the first time.
Gau (0-1) went 2.1 frames with three hits and two runs. Kyle Arjona took over on the mound in the seventh.
Against Shane Wise pitching in the eighth, UCF added two more runs on a Sam Tolleson two-run single with the bases full.
Jacksonville totaled 10 hits in the loss and JJ Gould extended his reach-base streak to 12 games.
Jacksonville returns home for its final home series of the season with a three-game set against NJIT. Action begins Friday at 6:00 p.m.
