February 20, 2009

FIVE-RUN FIFTH DOOMS RAMS IN 10-2 LOSS TO UCF
Otto, Leskiw notch three hits in season opener
Box Score

ORLANDO, Fla. – One inning can be the difference maker in college baseball and that proved true on Friday evening as the Virginia Commonwealth University baseball team dropped its 2009 season opener to the Knights of Central Florida, 10-2.

A five-run fifth inning by UCF put the game out of reach for the Black & Gold as the Rams drop to 0-1 on the year.

“Our guys played hard in a tough environment,” Head Coach Paul Keyes said. “Ian was just coming back from two head injuries and they were able to get to him as he was wearing down and that led to the big inning which ended up being the difference. We had chances offensively but just weren’t able to execute.”

Senior Ian Thomas (Virginia Beach, Va.) and Kyle Sweat both settled in quickly on a crisp evening, combining for eight strikeouts over the first three innings and allowed just two hits over that span.

UCF finally got on the scoreboard in the fourth as Colin Arnold was hit by a pitch to lead it off and moved to third two batters later when Chris Duffy singled into right field. Thomas got Kiko Vazquez to line out, but Brandon Romans sent an RBI single into centerfield to give the Knights a 1-0 advantage.

The Knights blew the game open in the bottom of the fifth with five runs thanks to RBI singles from Shane Brown and Vazquez, an RBI walk from Duffy and a run-scoring balk.

VCU would get on the scoreboard in the top of the sixth when senior Justin Wright (Yorktown, Va.) smoked a single up the middle and moved to second on a pass ball. After a groundout moved Wright to third, classmate Carlos Rodriguez (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico) brought him home with an RBI groundout as the Knights lead was down to five at 6-1.

The Rams would continue to chip away in the top of the seventh as juniors Andrew Dimino (Greenwood, Ind.) and Doug Otto (Jefferson City, Mo.) laced back-to-back singles to put runners on second and third and no outs. Senior R.J. Schenk (Yorktown, Va.) followed by launching a deep sacrifice fly to right field to bring the Rams within four at 6-2.

UCF would tack on two more runs in the bottom of the seventh when a dropped fly ball with two outs extended the inning and Romans followed by launching a two-run home run down the left field line to push the Knights lead to 8-2.

An RBI single from Nick Choto and a sacrifice fly from Brown pushed two more UCF runs across the plate to give the Knights a 10-2 advantage.

Evan Stobbs came in to throw the last four innings in relief and close the door on a 10-2 victory to pick up his first career save.

Otto and junior Matt Leskiw (Plains, Pa.) led a 10-hit attack for VCU, each tallying three hits apiece on the night. Dimino was the third Ram with a multi-hit performance, going 2-for-5 with a run scored in the contest.

Four Knights had multi-hit performances led by Eric Kallstrom with three hits and two runs scored. Romans finished with a 2-for-4 night with three RBIs and a run scored.

Sweat (1-0) picked up the victory for UCF, allowing just five hits and no runs in five innings of work. Thomas (0-1) was saddled with the loss, finishing with six earned runs in four innings, while striking out five.

The two teams are back it on Saturday afternoon with a 4 p.m. contest at Jay Bermann Field.