UCF Knights baseball dropped by North Florida

A three-RBI barrage by Erik Barber wasn’t enough to give the Knights a win in their final game against the University of North Florida this season, as they fell 10-5 Tuesday.

It would be errors that did most of the damage against the Knights, especially to starter Spencer Davis, who had yet to collect a decision this season, and wound up with his first loss. Only one of the five runs relinquished under his control would be charged to him, as he worked five innings before being replaced, with the Knights just a run behind at the time.

But when North Florida stepped up to the plate an inning later with Parker Thomas on the mound, the game blew open, with Thomas walking two, allowing three hits and letting four runs come home.

The Knights would battle back for a run late, but by then it was too late. North Florida, which also handed the Knights a trouncing on April 21, did it again.

That demoralizing loss came at a bad time for the Knights (30-23, 9-12), who have struggled mightily in the American Athletic Conference play and who will need to avoid being swept in their final series to avoid becoming the conference doormat. They’re currently three games ahead of AAC bottom-dweller Cincinnati in conference play.

But if the Knights can sweep the series on USF’s home diamond, they’ll even out their conference record just in time for the postseason tournament. The odds may be even in the series, with the Knights having taken two narrow wins over the Bulls (30-21-1, 11-10) this season, and the Bulls blowing them out 9-3 in the final game. The Knights have already taken series from two teams tied for third in conference play.

The Bulls are fresh off losing two of three to Tulane.

The series starts at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Game two is 6:30 p.m. Friday, followed by 1 p.m. Saturday, all at the University of South Florida.