UCF exploded for an early lead thanks to a Ronnie Richardson homerun on the first pitch. The early lead helped the Knights dominate the FAU Owls for the rest of the night. Nearly 1,500 fans watched the Knights retain the Owls to three runs against their 12 runs Tuesday at Jay Bergman Field. Senior Travis Shreve (3-for-4, 2 RBI) said, “It was a good way to start the game. Ronnie is a great lead-off hitter and he really gets us going. He is the spark at the top of our line up.”The Knights started the game strong with four runs and six hits in the first inning. UCF added eight more runs and 10 more hits throughout the game.“I thought our guys played a pretty complete game in a lot of different facets,” said head coach Terry Rooney. “Offensively, I thought we responded with the bats to a lot of different looks.”LHP Eric Skoglund (5-1, 2.23 ERA) started the game for UCF and earned his fifth win of the year. Rooney let Skoglund pitch five innings before he turned to his bullpen, which consisted of Bryan Brown, Jimmy Reed and Matt Collins.“It was good to get Eric Skoglund out there and extend him,” said Rooney. “I wanted to get his pitch count up so he is available for us at anytime this season.”

First baseman, D.J. Hicks (2-for-4, 1 RBI) improved his nation leading RBI total to 55.

UCF was ranked as high as No. 10 in the polls released Monday. “I think our guys should be very proud. They deserve it.” Rooney then humbly continued, “However we have a long way to go.”

UCF will once again travel for a weekend conference series to Tulane, New Orleans where they will face the Green Wave. The Knights’ next home game will be against Memphis Friday April 27th at 6:30 p.m.