Houston Falls at UCF in Series Opener

March 31, 2017

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Houston Baseball dropped its American Athletic Conference opener at UCF on Friday, falling to the Knights 5-2 despite a career-high 14-strikeout performance from starter Seth Romero.

With the loss, the Cougars' 11-game win streak comes to an end and Houston is now 19-6 on the year and 0-1 in American Athletic Conference play.

HOUSTON NOTES

Jake Scheiner has reached base in 15 straight games.
Connor Hollis has reached base in 13 straight games.
Seth Romero struck out a career high 14 hitters, surpassing his previous of 13 vs. Grand Canyon on March 19, 2016.
Joe Davis belted his first home run of the year and 15th of his young career.
Romero ups his career strikeout total to 281 following Friday's 14-K effort and still remains in fourth all-time.
Romero also notched his ninth career 10+ strikeout game, which places him solely in third place all-time. He has six this season.

Top Offensive Players
Joe Davis | 1x4, R, RBI
Corey Julks | 1x4, RBI

The Cougars were held to just seven hits as Davis and Julks each recorded an RBI in the effort, while Grayson Padgett went 2-for-4.

Pitching Breakdown:
Seth Romero | 7.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 14 K
Fred Villarreal | 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Junior starter Seth Romero fanned nine of his first 12 hitters he faced, including four in the second inning due to one reaching on a passed ball. The West Columbia, Texas native finished the night, striking out a career-high 14 -- surpassing his previous high of 13, which happened vs. Grand Canyon last season.

Romero would unfortunately suffer the loss, falling to 3-3 on the year after allowing four earned runs on six hits in 7.0 innings.

Freshman Fred Villarreal pitched the eighth inning and allowed a hit with one strikeout.

KEY INNINGS
4th | Houston takes a 1-0 lead on a solo home run by Davis in the fourth.

UCF responds in the latter half of the inning with three runs on three straight doubles and an RBI-groundout.

6th | The Cougars add a run in the sixth on a Julks RBI-single, scoring Triolo -- who singled with two outs to make it a 3-2 game.

The Knights would take advantage of a leadoff hit-by-pitch to add two runs with a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth for the three-run lead.

UCF NOTES
UCF improved to 21-6 on the year and 1-0 in league play with the win. Starter Robby Howell allowed two runs on seven hits with two walks and three strikeouts in 6.0 innings to earn the win and improve to 5-0 on the year. The Knights used seven hits, led by a three-RBI night from Brooks Morgan -- which included a two-run home run.

ON DECK
The series will continue at 5:30 p.m. CT Saturday and wrap at 12 p.m. Sunday in Orlando.

Fans can follow along via live audio or GT at UHCougars.com/gameday.

SINGLE GAME TICKETS
Single game tickets are on sale at uhcougars.com/tickets . Fans can enjoy a few single game tickets options for the 29 homes games at Darryl & Lori Schroeder Park during the 2017 season.

SUNDAY FAMILY PACK
An attractive Sunday Family Pack is available, allowing fans to purchase a Family Pack for Four for just $30 to any Sunday game at Darryl & Lori Schroeder Park in 2017.

The Family Pack features four general admission tickets, four hot dogs, four sodas and four popcorns to any Sunday home game for $30.

In order to purchase this deal, the purchaser must CLICK HERE use the promo code: FAMILYPACK.

STAY CONNECTED
Stay up to date with all Houston Baseball news and highlights by following us on Twitter @UHCougarBB or on Facebook at /HoustonCougarBaseball. Fans can also follow head coach Todd Whitting @toddwhitting on Twitter.

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Grayson Padgett

Joe Davis

Jake Scheiner

Jared Triolo

Players Mentioned

Joe Davis

Connor Hollis

Corey Julks

Grayson Padgett

Seth Romero

Jake Scheiner

Fred Villarreal

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