ORLANDO, Fla. - The Rutgers baseball team dropped a 4-0 decision to UCF in the series finale Sunday afternoon at Jay Bergman Field. With the loss, the Scarlet Knights fell to 7-10 on the season and the Golden Knights, who took the series, improved to 13-10.
UCF's Jaager Good (3-1) struck out a career-high 10 batters without allowing a run and surrendered just two hits in 7.2 innings to hold the strong Rutgers lineup at bay and lead the Golden Knights to the victory.
For the first time in the series, UCF scored the game's first run when Chris Duffy hit an RBI single to center field with men on first and second. Rutgers starter Casey Gaynor (Toms River, N.J.) got out of the frame on the next play, however, with an inning-ending double play.
UCF threatened to score again in the third when Duffy singled to right field with a man on second but Dave Williams (Franklin, N.J.) scooped up the ball and fired home to catcher Frank Meade (Linden, N.J.), who tagged out the runner at the plate to prevent the score.
Junior Todd Frazier (Toms River, N.J.) led off the fourth with a single and moved over to third on a Mike Bionde (Pompton Plains, N.J.) sacrifice bunt to give the Scarlet Knights their first scoring threat. Frazier, however, was stranded on third when RU recorded a pair of fly outs to end the inning.
The Scarlet Knights threatened again in the seventh when Ryan Hill (Hillsdale, N.J.) led off the inning with a single to right field. He moved over to third on a sacrifice and a groundout. Hill was stranded on third, however, when pinch hitter Vic Cegles (Phoenix. Ariz.) grounded out to second base to end the inning.
The Golden Knights built a 4-0 lead with a three-run seventh inning. UCF loaded the bases with one out and used a sacrifice fly to score one run and a bloop single to left field to plate the final two runs of the frame.
Rutgers collected two base hits to start a two-out rally off UCF reliever Justin Weiss in the ninth but RU could not plate a run, recording a shutout for just the second time in 17 games this season.
Gaynor (1-1) worked seven effective innings, allowing four runs on nine hits with three strikeouts and two walks. Senior Chris Lillis (Fair Haven, N.J.) came in on relief of Gaynor to work a 1-2-3 eighth inning.
Hill collected two of Rutgers' four hits in the game, with Frazier and senior Tim Querns (Cherry Hill, N.J.) recording the other two.
A day after true freshman Brett Garlick (Livingston, N.J.) made his first collegiate start and first plate appearance, RU saw true freshman Dan Betteridge (Sewell, N.J.) make his collegiate debut, starting as the Scarlet Knights' designated hitter.
Rutgers returns north where it will debut its new home Bainton Field next weekend with a three-game series with Georgetown, beginning Friday at 3:00 p.m.
