ORLANDO, Fla. – For the first time since the 2012 season, the No. 22 Knights, under the leadership of first year head coach Greg Lovelady, are heading back to the NCAA regional tournament, this time to Tallahassee.
Following a departure from the American Athletic Conference tournament, the Knights are heading to the Tallahassee Regional Tournament as the No. 2 seed, first facing off against Auburn. Tennessee Tech and Florida State will also face off.
Recommended Videos
“I’m really proud of these guys for all the hard work they’ve put in,” Lovelady said in a press release. “For these seniors, some of them who have never been to a regional. One of my big goals as a coach is to make sure that every single player that comes through our program gets this opportunity. These are the things that they’re going to talk about for the rest of their lives.”
UCF has only battled FSU this year out of that group, losing both matches, 5-2 and 5-0. The Knights are 1-4 all-time against Auburn with the last matchup being in 1998, where the Knights fell 4-0. In the 2017 season, Auburn was 35-24 overall and were 16-14 in the SEC. The team hit .275 and has a staff ERA of 4.33.
The Knights, led by senior right-handed pitcher Robby Howell and freshman left-handed pitcher Joe Sheridan, will look to have a strong weekend at the regional tournament.
Sheridan is the only pitcher in the AAC to end the regular season with 10 wins on the mound, but Howell wasn't far behind, notching nine wins and an award as one of the AAC's pitchers of the year. However, pitching wasn't the only story this year.
Offense was also a part of Lovelady's formula for success. With solid run production, helped by a conference best 101 steals, 25 from sophomore Matthew Mika, the Knights were a force at the plate. Redshirt sophomore Kyle Marsh, who missed the 2016 season with an injury, came back strong, batting .316, driving in 48 RBIs in the regular season with 27 extra-base hits.
Freshman first baseman Rylan Thomas also stepped up, leading the team with 13 home runs, driving in another team best, 51 RBIs.
The Knights were helped in their efforts to claim a tournament berth with big wins against Florida, AAC champion Houston, Miami and the University of South Florida.
The Knights currently hold a 40-20 record, the first time the team has reached 40 wins since 2012 when UCF last made the regional tournament. In that tournament run, the Knights came close to claiming the NCAA Regional Title but fell to Stony Brook in Miami, Florida.
This double-elimination regional tournament will take place from June 2-5 at Dick Howser Stadium. The winner of the weekend's games will move on as one of 16 teams to advance to the NCAA Super Regional Tournament that will take place June 9-12.
The Knights will battle Auburn on Friday at noon on ESPN2. FSU and Tennessee Tech will battle at 6 p.m. on Friday. This is UCF's 12th regional appearance in program history.