Knights trounce FAU

The Knights continued to climb higher with a 12-0 win over Florida Atlantic on Tuesday. The shutout trouncing put the Knights at 23-14 on the season, thanks to another wild barrage of RBIs from designated hitter D.J. Hicks.

And that win was sweet revenge for UCF’s baseball team, which had fallen 3-2 in a nail-biter to FAU the week before.

Pitcher Ray Hanson threw a 6-inning, 5-strikeout effort en route to his third win of the season.

The Knights got out ahead early with a 3-run second inning and didn’t let up for the rest of the game. In the process, Hicks went wild at the plate, hammering 2 doubles and a single to bat in 6 runners.

Jonathan Griffin put on a show of his own, blasting a solo shot over the left field wall in the third, following it up with a single the next inning. Darnell Sweeney also had a big day at the plate, scoring a run on two hits.

Meanwhile Hanson and reliever Johnny Sedlock kept FAU’s bats in check, giving up 8 hits in 9 innings and striking out 8 batters combined.

The Knights faced the Florida Gators on Wednesday night at press time, taking on a team they’d shocked in a 4-3 comeback earlier in the season.

This weekend, they’ll travel to Memphis to face the Tigers for the first time. That series kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 22. That could be a tough one for the Knights, as Memphis currently leads Conference USA with a 23-14, 6-3 record. With a sweep, the Knights could be within a game of the Tigers.

The Knights’ road trip extends through next weekend in Houston before they return home May 3 to face USF.