Knights snap streak against UConn

The UCF baseball team had already lost two games to UConn by a combined score of 21-4 when they stepped onto the field to try to avoid a sweep. Thankfully for the Knights, they had Zach Rodgers on the mound on Sunday.

Rodgers would pitch his second consecutive complete game to lead the Knights to a 5-1 win in their series finale. Rodgers struck out seven and didn’t give up any earned runs.

He also earned the adoration of Knights head coach Terry Rooney, who called the junior the Knights’ best pitcher. Rodgers didn’t give up a walk the entire game, with the Huskies’ lone run coming off a freakish first inning that featured a passed ball that turned a Jack Sundberg single into a double, then a balk, then a sacrifice fly to bring him home. Rodgers wouldn’t allow more than a hit in any inning.

Meanwhile James Vasquez played the hero at the plate again, blasting a double and a pair of singles en route to three RBI and raising his batting average on the season to .301.

That was a big turnaround from the game before, when the Knights combined for five total hits while letting UConn run away with a 15-1 blowout win. Only two innings didn’t feature a Huskies player crossing the plate. But by midway through the top of the first inning, UConn already had every run needed to win the game.

The Knights watched UConn’s Anthony Kay pitch a near-shutout complete game, with the zero only broken by a series of errors in the eighth inning that allowed UCF’s Logan Heiser to cross the plate. By then the Knights were already down 13-1. There would be no comeback for the Knights, at least not until the next day, when Rodgers’ masterpiece led them back into the W column.

The win put the Knights at 25-12 overall and 4-5 in the American Athletic conference. That’s good enough for mid-pack in the AAC, though the Knights likely would like their conference-leading start back.

The Knights are at No. 12 in the AP Top 25. They traveled all the way to Miami to face the Hurricanes Wednesday at press time. The Hurricanes were 28-9 overall, coming off a 9-1 trouncing of Virginia Tech. Coming up the Knights face a nearly 900-mile change of scenery for a three-game series against Tulane, starting at 7:30 p.m. Friday in New Orleans.

Rollins baseball

A respite from conference play gave the Tars a chance to get back into the win column with back-to-back wins over Palm Beach Atlantic to split a four-game series.

Getting their spirits back up the Tars won a 9-7 decision April 11 and 4-2 on April 12, giving them their first winning streak since early March.

The Tars (18-22, 3-12) have struggled in Sunshine State Conference play, most recently losing two out of three against Florida Southern, which formerly held the lowest rung on the conference ladder. That now belongs to the Tars.

Rollins is right back into conference play this weekend with a three-game stint at home hosting Nova Southeastern (32-7, 12-3), the SSC’s top-ranked team. The first game starts at 6 p.m. Friday at Alfond Stadium, followed by a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.

The Tars will need to win every one of their remaining conference games to avoid a losing season. Rollins hasn’t had a winning conference season since 2010.