Knights light up Presbyterian

A six-inning no-hitter combined with an 18-run batting practice round to turn the Knights’ most recent win into the biggest blowout of the season so far, 18-4 over Presbyterian.

Now the No. 7 UCF baseball team is just a few days away from conference play as they ride the wave of a series of wins that started in early March.

The Knights’ most recent win started off with a seven-run first inning bookended by two 1-2-3 innings for Presbyterian.

It was the start of something for the record books for Knights starter Eric Hepple, who didn’t give up a hit until the sixth, when his arm fell apart and Presbyterian nearly batted around the order. By then the Knights were already working on an 11-0 lead with more to come.

Designated hitter Kyle Marsh took the most advantage of Presbyterian’s faltering pitching, hammering home three teammates and smashing his eighth double of the season. Left fielder Matt Diorio and first baseman James Vasquez each launched their second home runs of the season as the Knights’ activated most of their dugout and teed off. In the end 14 UCF players would step to the plate, with all but one of them reaching base.

After the temporary Presbyterian slugfest that broke out in the top of the sixth inning, the Knights’ pitching turned the final three frames into a dead ball era, allowing just two hits.

Coming up for the Knights is a string of conference games bisected by some one-and-done matchups against local teams.

They’ll face Houston for a three-game set starting at 6:30 p.m. Friday, then 4 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. The Cougars (17-7) entered this week on a nine-game winning streak, including three-straight one-run wins over New Mexico.

Rollins baseball

The Tars are 14-15 after losing three straight to Florida Tech, the second series sweep they’ve suffered this season. But unlike their series loss to Eckerd in February, this one wasn’t even close.

An 11-5 blowout would repeat itself as the knockout punch for the Tars, who gave up 11 runs for their third game in a row, propelled by more than a dozen hits allowed in every game.

The Tars will host Ave Maria (17-20) at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 26. Ave Maria is riding a two-game win streak heading into the single-game stopover.