Owls swept by Knights

The baseball was swept by Central Florida over the weekend and is now 7-13.

Coming off an impressive outing in Memphis the week before, a series Temple won, senior Matt Hockenberry struggled to get ahead of hitters in game one.

“That offense is based on pressure,” coach Ryan Wheeler said. “They pressure you with their run game and speed when you fall behind in the count. You can’t do that with a team like them.”

Hockenberry surrendered eight hits and six runs in six innings against UCF.

The Golden Knights jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the fourth after a three-run double from junior infielder Dylan Moore. RBI singles from redshirt-senior first basemen Robert Amaro and senior designated hitter Andrew Nist cut the lead to one in the fifth.

Moore struck again in the sixth with a single that gave UCF a 6-3 lead. A ninth-inning home run from senior third basemen Derek Peterson, who went 3-for-4 in the game, wasn’t enough as the Owls fell 6-4 in game one.

In game two, junior pitcher Tanner Olson held the Owls to no runs and four hits for eight innings. Amaro ripped a home run to left in the ninth to get the Owls on the board. Junior center fielder Derrick Salberg had four RBIs and was a triple short of the cycle for the Knights, who won game two 8-2.

Peterson went 2-for-4 in game two, including a double.

“When he’s playing well he leads by example,” Wheeler said. “He’s a guy that’s well respected and he’s able to speak up and voice his opinion.”

In game three, the Knights scored two in the first on a walk and a hit-by-pitch from redshirt-senior pitcher Ryan Kuehn. Kuehn struggled early and often, only lasting two and two thirds of an inning, surrendering five runs, three earned.

Back-to-back homers from junior outfielder Erik Barber and junior infielder James Vasquez gave the Knights a 5-0 lead in the second. Peterson cut the lead to three in the third with a double.

UCF totaled 10 hits and seven walks and completed the sweep of Temple with a score of 12-5.