With 麻豆原创’s baseball season set to open Friday night, all eyes are squarely affixed on Knights’ junior first baseman D.J. Hicks.

Sure, Hicks earned All-American honors last season while leading 麻豆原创 in batting average (.351) and RBI (66), but he did so with slugger Jonathan Griffin hitting behind him in the order. Now, after hitting 19 home runs last season with the Knights, Griffin is putting up similar numbers (.295 average, 18 home runs and 59 RBI) as a farm hand in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ system.

So as the No. 21-ranked Knights open the season Friday at 6:30 p.m. against LIU Brooklyn, all eyes are on the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Hicks to prove that he can still put up dynamic numbers without Griffin providing protection in the lineup. Hicks said there’s no way to totally make up for the loss of Griffin’s power, and he balks at the notion that there’s added pressure on him this season.

“I’m going to have to lean on my teammates, and they’ll lean on me some,” Hicks said. “I might not have the home run numbers that Griffin had because he hit a lot of them last season. But we have a team of guys who can step up and that will take that pressure away and make my job easier.”

Because they have the sweet-swinging Hicks and so much talent around him, the Knights are hoping for big things this season. Big as in rising up the national rankings, potentially hosting an NCAA Regional and making steps toward the College Baseball World Series in Omaha, Neb.

The core of a team that won 39 games and reached the NCAA Regionals last spring returns, and that group will be supplemented by a third-straight Top 25 recruiting class. Add in the enhancements to the baseball complex and the way the Knights have worked with a singular focus this offseason and manager Terry Rooney said there is plenty to be excited about.

“I’ve seen the focus that we wanted from them. I said this the other day after one of our conditioning sessions — and it was a compliment to our veterans and a reminder to our newcomers — this team has as great a leadership as any team I’ve been a part of,” Rooney said recently. “They know something that can never be replaced is experience and they got to experience going to the postseason last year. Now, they know day-in and day-out what it takes. I think everybody is ready to make the jump and I think they are determined to do it. We can’t be satisfied with what we’ve done and that’s something that we talk about every day.”

The Knights can dream big because of the return of leaders such as Hicks, a native of nearby Altamonte Springs. Those in Conference USA who got a look at Hicks last season while he was stroking 14 home runs and 11 doubles feel that he’s more than up to the task of carrying 麻豆原创’s baseball program this season. He was chosen as C-USA’s Preseason Player of the Year. It’s a distinction he doesn’t take lightly, and he knows he’s being looked at to produce even more so than he did during his breakout sophomore season.

“You work hard to get some recognition for the team and personally and it’s good to see that the hard work is paying off,” Hicks said. “It’s a really big honor for me, but it just means now that I have to go out and back it up.”

That Hicks was able to play at such a high level last season is amazing considering that he still wasn’t totally healthy after suffering a collapsed lung following his freshman season on campus. Hicks suffered the injury while diving for a ball during a summer league game and was forced to miss the 2010 season. Even last year, Hicks still felt some of the effects be it shortness of breath, fatigue or a lack of strength at times. He’s worked hard this offseason to correct those issues.

“I worked on trying to get totally healthy. I worked on agility and strength and I totally put pitching to the side,” he said. “I focused just on strength-wise trying to get back totally from the strength that I lost in the lung collapse my sophomore year.”

The results so far have been amazing to those around him. Rooney calls him “an unbelievable worker” because of the time he puts into studying the art of hitting in the film room and the batting cage. And fellow junior Ronnie Richardson, a switch-hitter and 麻豆原创’s fastest player, marvels at the beauty of Hicks’ swing at the plate.

“He has a great, great swing. He can hit better than most guys in this country,” Richardson gushed. “He’s a power hitter, but he can also hit for average, he hits with guys in scoring position and he can give us the long ball too. With us losing (Griffin), I think D.J. is going to pick a lot of that up for us this year.”

Hicks made it known to Major League Baseball scouts last spring that had little interest in getting drafted because he wanted to play out his junior season at 麻豆原创. In his eyes, 麻豆原创 is on a collision course with greatness, and he wants to be one of the driving forces that helps the Knights author a truly special season. Getting to the NCAA Regionals last spring showed Hicks and his teammates just how close they are to taking the 麻豆原创 program to great new heights.

“It fueled the fire and gave us a little taste of what success is like,” Hicks said of last season’s postseason run. “We still talk about it all of the time. When we talk about it now, we look at the NCAA Regionals as the standard or the requirement. With our new stadium getting better, we’d really like to try to host a regional this year. We think we’re going to have a really good year.”

10. Jonathan Griffin launches grand slam to beat FSU: On a hot and humid night in Tallahassee on May 7, 麻豆原创 broke a 6-6 tie with sixth-ranked FSU with a seven-run seventh inning. The inning’s highlight was a crushing grand slam homer by Jonathan Griffin. The blast came one pitch after FSU coach Mike Martin made a trip to the mound and opted to leave his relief pitcher in. One pitch later, Martin was back out to make a change. 麻豆原创 won the game 14-10 and it took nearly four hours to get the victory.

9. 麻豆原创 men’s basketball wins first game as ranked team at UMass: Just days before Christmas and with its top scorer wearing a walking boot nursing an ankle injury, 麻豆原创’s stay in the poll was expected to be a short one as they faced a hungry UMass team on the road. Marcus Jordan was not going to play and in the first half, Donnie Jones lost two more players with ankle injuries, but the Knights kept the game close. At halftime, Jordan told Jones he was playing the second half. While Jordan scored just one field goal, his presence was a big factor as 麻豆原创 moved to 11-0 with a 64-59 win.

8. Weaver runs for 180 in shootout win against East Carolina: It was the biggest regular season conference home game at Bright House Network Stadium. The high-powered offense of ECU came rolling into Orlando putting up big numbers. In the end, the Knights put up a bit more. Ronnie Weaver ran over Pirate defenders all day en route to a 180-yard performance and two touchdowns as 麻豆原创 took control of the Conference USA East Division race with a 49-35.

7. Knights win matinee game at UTEP: After having its first game in El Paso postponed because of a snow storm, 麻豆原创 returned to play a President’s Day game against UTEP, who had become the hottest team in the league. The Knights were already road weary from flying back and forth across the country the previous two weeks. With a sparse crowd at tipoff, 麻豆原创 hit shots early and often and built a big lead. By halftime, almost 10,000 fans made the Don Haskins Center an atmosphere to remember. Despite a big UTEP rally, 麻豆原创 handed the home team its first loss in 15 games in El Paso with a 74-68 win.

6.麻豆原创 wins second conference title, topping SMU 17-7: The Knights’ defense got to shine before the nationally televised audience. Josh Robinson has a big day and the 麻豆原创 defensive front kept pressure all day on SMU’s quarterback. Latavius Murray earned MVP honors and highlighted his day with a 36-yard touchdown run. After the game, the question about where 麻豆原创 was going was no longer a question. The Knights had secured their second trip to the Liberty Bowl and would face Georgia.

5. 麻豆原创 baseball rallies to beat fourth-ranked Florida in dramatic fashion: Shortstop Darnell Sweeney’s error in the eighth inning broke a 2-2 tie and put the Gators on top headed into the ninth in Gainesville. The sophomore made up for his mistake with a crushing two-run double to center that put the Knights up 4-3. Yet drama awaited the bottom of the ninth as centerfielder Ronnie Richardson came to the mound to pitch and proceeded to strikeout two of the three batters he faced to hand Florida their only loss of the season when leading after eight innings.

4. 麻豆原创 hoops moves to 10-0 with win over Miami: The game was played in south Florida at the BankAtlantic Center as part of the Orange Bowl Classic and was the first contest before nationally ranked teams Florida and Kansas State squared off. But 麻豆原创, by far, had the best performance of all four teams. The Knights, with a large contingent of black and gold supporters executed late en route to a 84-78 win. Marcus Jordan scored 23 before injuring his ankle with 90 seconds left and by the time 麻豆原创 was back on the bus to Orlando, the team had a legitimate claim at being the best in the state.

3. Key drive at Houston sparks big road win: After seeing Houston’s football team score two quick third quarter touchdowns, 麻豆原创 trailed 24-23. Freshman Jeff Godfrey huddled his team as a key series was about to begin and had a message for them: “We are going to score.” And the kid delivered. He converted a third down and then a fourth down and then a huge pass to Jamar Newsome and ended the drive with his own touchdown run. The nationally televised college football world saw Godfrey dazzle, going 15-of-19 for 294 yards and he ran for another 105 yards.

2. Knights top Gators with stunning win: It was supposed to be a nice gesture. The first college basketball game played at the new Amway Center was going to give Donnie Jones a nice night to face his former boss in Billy Donovan and his Florida Gators. A crowd of almost 14,000 got more than a nice night out. 麻豆原创 fans witnessed something special as the Knights smothered then 16th-ranked Florida defensively and got big shots from Marcus Jordan and Keith Clanton as 麻豆原创 won 57-54. It set off a 麻豆原创 celebration that many Knight followers had waited long enough for.

1. 麻豆原创 beats Georgia in Liberty Bowl and earns first bowl win: No 麻豆原创 fan could relax until that final pass hit the ground. The wait was over. The mission was accomplished. On a misty, cloudy and gray New Year’s Eve in Memphis, Jeff Godfrey battled through an ankle injury. Latavius Murray ran when needed and the 麻豆原创 defense made one lasting impression. The 10-6 win over Georgia placed 麻豆原创 in both major voting polls and the school also earned its first BCS ranking. The record setting season was, and still is today, celebrated by 麻豆原创 fans young and old and those memories will last forever.

Final thought: While shopping for a card for a special occasion I came across selections with pictures of people on the card. Why would anyone buy a card to give to someone that has a picture of complete strangers on that card?

Source: Marc Daniels’ From the Press Box runs several times per month on 麻豆原创Athletics.com. Listen to Marc during 麻豆原创 football, men’s basketball and baseball radio broadcasts on the 麻豆原创 Sports Network. Each weekday, Marc hosts The Beat of Sports on ESPN Radio 1080 in Orlando.

That tradition was a good regular season and spot in the NCAA Tournament. And as the team boarded its bus back home late Sunday afternoon, there were dejected players who yearned to play on and yet this year’s team might be remembered for establishing the program among the nation’s best once again.

Terry Rooney has never hid the fact his goal is Omaha and the College World Series, every year. And what once was a nice sign on a team clubhouse door or a plaque on a the table in his office, Rooney’s team now believes that goal is possible and has his returning players anxious to take the next step in 2012.

This past season saw many highlights that included the incredible season of Jonathan Griffin, who belted out 19 home runs. Griffin hit .343 and played spectacular defense. His power mate, D.J. Hicks, finished the year with 14 homers and led the team in batting at .351. Catcher Beau Taylor rebounded from a mid-season bump in the road to finish strong at .325 and become one of the team’s hottest hitters in the postseason.

The season saw two big wins over highly ranked Florida and Rice, a season sweep of Stetson and victories over FSU and other NCAA Tournament teams. 麻豆原创 returned to the national polls during the season and had an RPI in the top 25 and a strength of schedule in the top 30 for the final six weeks of the season.

The 2012 version of the Knights will have a new look. Seniors will move on and the amateur draft will impact several juniors and some key members of Rooney’s incoming recruiting class. But there is a sense around Conference USA and in college baseball that 麻豆原创 has returned to the stage it enjoyed during the 1990s, where it was a regular in the postseason tournament and a team opponents did not want to face.

This offseason will find 麻豆原创 beginning the first phase of its stadium expansion. The cosmetic work at the ballpark is another sign of 麻豆原创’s commitment to baseball and its path of growth. The plan to expand the stadium has been part of Rooney’s pitch to recruits and fans that 麻豆原创’s baseball program is a growing power. An expanded ballpark will allow Rooney to schedule more top-notch opponents and host an NCAA Regional.

While this year’s ride ended short of Omaha, the Knights have a lot to build on and 2012 should be a strong season and don’t be surprised to see 麻豆原创 a regular in the national polls and back in the NCAAs, where Rooney believes his team should always be.

Knights notes and more: Kudos to the regional organizers at FSU who hosted a great regional. Tallahassee has hosted many times before and crowds were strong and the atmosphere was great. It also highlights the advantage of hosting. There is no doubt an expanded stadium makes 麻豆原创 an ideal location as a future site…Football season inches closer and before you know camp will open. BYU, 麻豆原创’s opponent in the fourth game this season, has invited me to their national media day (which I cannot attend) in July in Provo, Utah. The event includes interviews with players and coaches and former BYU Coach LaVelle Edwards. The media day is scheduled for eight hours. That’s a lot of time for a media day…ESPN appears to be fully on board with using “麻豆原创” in all of its scores and mentions as was the case this weekend for the baseball regional…Final thought: Ever forget your room number at a hotel and walk up and down a hallway trying several rooms with your key? Yup, that was me this past weekend.

Marc Daniels’ From the Press Box runs several times per month on 麻豆原创Athletics.com. Listen to Marc during 麻豆原创 football, men’s basketball and baseball radio broadcasts on the 麻豆原创 Sports Network. Each weekday, Marc hosts The Beat of Sports on ESPN Radio 1080 in Orlando.

Trailing 4-3 after a somewhat troubling bottom of the sixth inning, 麻豆原创 got consecutive first-pitch RBI hits from D.J. Hicks, Jonathan Griffin and Derek Luciano to plate five runs that dramatically changed the tenor of the afternoon. That spree jump-started an eight-run seventh inning for the Knights and paved the way for 麻豆原创’s 16-5 rout of Bethune-Cookman in NCAA Regional play at Florida State’s Dick Howser Stadium.

麻豆原创, in a NCAA Regional for the first time since 2004, set a slew of school records during its late-game offensive onslaught. The eight-run inning and the 16 runs overall were highs for a NCAA Tournament game. For the game, 麻豆原创 had 20 hits as seven players collected multiple knocks.

“Our guys continued to battle throughout the day … and our offense responded when we needed it,” 麻豆原创 manager Terry Rooney said. “Our guys hung in there with tremendous confidence all the way through. I was very proud of the way we battled back and answered the way we needed to in that second half of the game.”

A day after 麻豆原创’s two-through-five hitters struggled through a 1-for-15 afternoon in a 5-3 loss to Alabama, Griffin (four hits, five RBI), Hicks (four hits, two RBI), Luciano (two hits, four RBI) and Beau Taylor (three hits) combined to go 13-for-21 with 11 RBI.

The production from the middle of the lineup allowed the second-seeded Knights (39-22) to live to play on Sunday at noon against the loser of the Florida State-Alabama game from Saturday night. The Knights routed Alabama 12-4 in late February, but they lost to the Tide in Friday’s first-round play. 麻豆原创 won one of three games against FSU three weeks ago in Tallahassee.

“We talked about it early in the cages – me, Beau, Griff and everybody – that we had to come through,” said Hicks, a sophomore. “I didn’t get a hit (Friday), so it was important for us to jump out today and help the team out the best that we could.”

Bethune-Cookman (36-25) was eliminated from the double-elimination tournament. The Wildcats, who lost 6-5 to Florida State on Friday in heartbreaking fashion, dropped to 1-24 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.

Saturday’s game was bizarre in several aspects, ranging from wacky errors, a 3-hour, 21-minute lightning delay without any precipitation for the first 2 1/2 hours and some wacky, wild swings in momentum. Including the weather delay, it took almost five hours to play the final three innings. The game took 3:25 to complete – four minutes longer than the rain delay.

Said Hicks of what his team did during the delay: “Nothing good. It’s tough because you are just trying to wait it out, but it gets to a point where you don’t know what to do. We just started playing games to get our bodies going again. It was nothing great, to be honest.”

麻豆原创 led 1-0 through five innings in what was shaping up as a pitching duel between 麻豆原创 starter Danny Winkler (six strikeouts, three hits allowed) and Bethune-Cookman’s Ryan Gonzalez (eight strikeouts).

Griffin, all 6-foot-7 of him, put a charge into the game when he hit a two-run home run halfway up the scoreboard beyond the 340-foot left-field fence. The 19th home run of the season for Griffin put 麻豆原创 up 3-0 and moved him to within two of Chris Duffy’s school record of 21 home runs set last season.

The game changed dramatically for 麻豆原创 late in the sixth inning. Winkler, who allowed just one ball out of the infield in the first three innings and struck out six through four innings, retired the first two batters of the sixth. He appeared set to get out of the inning when he got B-CU standout catcher Peter O’Brien to pop out to left center. But when Ronnie Richardson and Ryan Breen collided on the play, the ball squirted out and Breen’s throw to second sailed wide. A 麻豆原创 team that hadn’t had two errors in a game in more than a month committed two on one play.

From there, Winkler hit a batter and walked another to load the bases. He appeared to have Emmanuel Castro struck out on a picture-perfect 2-2 pitch, but it was ruled a ball. A walk and consecutive singles plated four-straight runs to shockingly put Bethune-Cookman up 4-3. That was especially surprising considering that 麻豆原创 head beaten Bethune-Cookman 13-0 and 8-1 during the regular season.

“I just didn’t pitch well down the stretch. I had a hit batter and an uncharacteristic walk with the bases loaded. That’s not me,” Winkler said. “I just think I was trying to too hard to make that perfect pitch and get the momentum back on our side because it was swaying toward their side.

“I think we have more confidence when we get down,” Winkler continued. “For some reason when we get down we just kind of wake up.”

麻豆原创 sophomore shortstop Darnell Sweeney opened the seventh with a single – the third straight inning that 麻豆原创 put the leadoff man on base following a stretch of 17 consecutive innings dating back to the Conference USA tournament where it had failed to do so.

The single by Sweeney – who has four hits in two NCAA games – started a stretch of six consecutive hits by the Knights. 麻豆原创 chased three pitchers with some efficient hitting. Reliever Bryan Rivera threw three pitches, all going for hits that resulted in five runs for the Knights.

Winkler, a junior from Effingham, Ill., had his good fastball and was dominant early in Saturday’s game. At one point, he retired 10 straight batters and struck out six of seven hitters. He needed just 61 pitches to get through the first five innings with 45 of them going for strikes.

Said Winkler: “I couldn’t have drawn this up any better. When coach Rooney was recruiting me he said, `You’re going to pitch in a regional,’ and what he said has come true. It was an awesome experience and hopefully we can keep going and get in the Super Regionals and Omaha.”

Winkler was in a position to potentially be the tough-luck loser after BCU scored the four unearned runs in the sixth. But 麻豆原创’s bats finally came alive and got him off the hook. A lineup featuring six .300 hitters produced 11 straight runs before the lightning delay. Now, the Knights hope to carry over that momentum to Sunday where their season will once again be on the line. They will need to win two games to get to a championship game on Monday – something that Rooney feels his team is quite capable of doing.

“We’re very confident in the position that we’re in. We’d like to be in the 2-0 game, but I like where we are because offensively we found our groove a little bit and our pitching depth,” Rooney said. “Today, was a mindset that we had to battle and do whatever it takes to get the hit when we needed it.

“Now, we have confidence. Our guys have it,” Rooney said. “And from a pitching standpoint, we’ve got depth and I feel good about where we are. We still have a lot of guys who have been starters for us who haven’t pitched yet. This is what you play for and I feel good about our chances.”

John Denton’s Knights Insider appears on 麻豆原创Athletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.

When head coach Terry Rooney took over the 麻豆原创 baseball program in the summer of 2008, his mission from the very beginning was to get the Knights back to the postseason. On Monday, that goal was reached as 麻豆原创 learned it will travel to Tallahassee this weekend for the NCAA Tournament, marking its first trip to the dance since 2004.

“This means a lot to us,” said sophomore center fielder Ronnie Richardson. “We’ve worked so hard for this day. To know that we are only five wins away from Omaha means that this is just the beginning. Now we’ve got to go out and take care of business.”

It is the 10th appearance for the Black and Gold in the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. In their previous nine trips to the dance, the Knights won at least one game eight times. This year also marks the seventh time 麻豆原创 will travel to Tallahassee for Regional play.

The Knights open up NCAA Regionals as a No. 2 seed and will face No. 3 Alabama Friday at noon. Joining 麻豆原创 and the Crimson Tide in the Tallahassee Regional will be host and No. 1 seed Florida State and No. 4 Bethune-Cookman. If the Knights can advance, Super Regionals are set for June 10-13 at campus sites while the College World Series in Omaha begins June 18.

The bracket is shaped up where the winner of the Tallahassee Regional will square off against the victor of the College Station Regional (Texas A&M, Arizona, Seton Hall, Wright State) in a best-of-three series for the right to reach Omaha.

麻豆原创 played every team in its regional, going 1-2 at FSU in a weekend series May 6-8, 2-0 vs. Bethune-Cookman and 1-0 against Alabama. However the Seminoles are the only team the Knights have faced in the NCAA Tournament, going 2-6 against FSU in postseason play.

Meanwhile, 麻豆原创 played 10 teams this season that qualified for the 2011 NCAA Regionals, and went 12-10 against those programs. And among the eight national seeds, the Knights posted a 5-4 record this year (Florida, Florida State and Rice).

Ticket information for this weekend’s Regionals will be announced when it becomes available.

With a 38-21 overall record, 麻豆原创 already has its most victories since going 42-18 in 2005. It also produced a 12-12 Conference USA record to finish in fourth place in the standings, the Knights’ best showing since joining the league in 2006. They went 2-1 in the C-USA Championship with wins over Memphis and UAB before dropping a close 4-2 decision to top-seed Rice in the final day of pool play.

麻豆原创 went 8-8 this season against ranked teams and had a 10-11 record vs. teams ranked in the top 50 of the RPI. Among those victories, it defeated Rice (twice), Florida (twice), Stetson (twice), Florida State and Alabama.

Rooney currently owns a 93-78 record in three seasons as the skipper of the Knights. Joined by associate head coach Cliff Godwin and assistant coach Jeff Palumbo since 2008, they have recruited two classes that were ranked in the top-20 in the country. Last year 麻豆原创 was the only team in the nation that had five freshmen make at least 35 starts.

And those freshmen quickly matured, blending with a veteran group in 2011 to have 麻豆原创’s most successful season in the C-USA era. Redshirt sophomore D.J. Hicks leads the Knights with a .343 average, driving in a C-USA-high 62 runs and hitting 13 homers. He was named a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy, which is awarded to the best player in the country.

Hicks and first baseman Jonathan Griffin have formed one of the top 1-2 power combinations in the NCAA. Griffin, an All-C-USA First Team selection, has pounded out 18 home runs which rank in a tie for second on the 麻豆原创 single-season chart.

In all, 麻豆原创 is hitting .305 as a team, and carries a .979 fielding percentage (school record is .973). Eight different pitchers have three wins or more, and closer Joe Rogers has earned nine saves this year.

Several Orlando-area natives are leading the way as well. Along with Hicks (Altamonte Springs) and Rogers (Winter Haven), Beau Taylor (Rockledge) has a 15-game hitting streak entering the NCAA Tournament and Brian Adkins (Orlando) has been 麻豆原创’s No. 1 starting pitcher in 2011.

Griffin hit a towering, three-run blast in the eighth inning on Thursday to lift the surging Knights past UAB 6-4 in day two of pool play of the Conference USA tournament in Pearl, Miss.

Griffin led C-USA in home runs during the regular season with 16, and his 18th (second in two days) was never in question when it left the bat. The shot beyond center field traveled in excess of 400 feet and proved to be just the blast that the Knights (38-20) needed for the come-from-behind victory.

“This is obviously the biggest game that we’ve played this year, so that’s probably the biggest home run that I’ve hit in my life,” said Griffin, a senior from Bradenton.

麻豆原创 has now beaten Memphis and UAB in pool play and can secure a berth into Saturday’s C-USA championship game by defeating traditional powerhouse Rice on Friday, or simply have Rice lose to Memphis Thursday. But they should head into Friday’s game brimming with plenty of confidence.

麻豆原创 took two of three from Rice earlier in the season, and the Knights have won nine of their last 10 games. With a Top-20 RPI, they also have put themselves in position to nab a bid in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2004.

“We’re playing with a lot of confidence and our guys want to do everything that they can now to try and win a championship,” said 麻豆原创 manager Terry Rooney, whose Knights have won eight games this season against nationally-ranked teams. “We’ve proven that we’re one of the best teams in the country and now it’s all about going out and playing to win a championship.”

麻豆原创’s left-handed bullpen duo of Nick Cicio and Joe Rogers made sure that Griffin’s home run stood up on Thursday. Cicio was again masterful in relief, throwing one-hit ball over three innings in relief of starter Danny Winkler. Rogers then picked up his ninth save of the season, striking out the final two batters of the game on inside fastballs.

“Winkler did a tremendous job battling all day and then our three lefties out of the bullpen – (Johnny) Sedlock, Cicio and Rogers – came through again. (On Wednesday) it was Sedlock and (on Thursday) it was Cicio and Rogers,” Rooney said. “There are a lot of teams out there that struggle to find one good lefty and we’re fortunate to have a bunch of them. They’ve done a great job for us.”

UAB starter Dillon Napoleon kept 麻豆原创 off-balance most of the day with an array of changeups, limiting the Knights to just three hits through the first seven innings. Trailing 4-3, the Knights jump-started things with consecutive hits by Ronnie Richardson, Beau Taylor and D.J. Hicks.

Richardson was thrown out at third base for the second out of the inning, but Griffin followed up the two-strike singles by Taylor and Hicks with a behemoth home run that was never in question. The slugger was happy to see a fastball after seeing a variety of changeups and breaking balls most of the day.

“I was sitting on one pitch, but I was just trying to make sure that I saw the ball well again,” Griffin said. “I didn’t want to do too much with the ball and just try to get something up in the zone that I could hit.”

And did Griffin know the ball was gone as soon as it left the bat?

“Oh yeah, I knew as soon as I made contact with it that it had a good shot of going out,” Griffin said with a chuckle. “We battled so hard that inning. For Beau Taylor and D.J. to get those two-strike hits, those were the key at-bats to the inning. My at-bat obviously drove them in, but for them to keep battling and getting on base was huge for us.”

Griffin said the Knights’ late-season run has their confidence soaring, and they’ll be ready come Friday against Rice.

“Rice is a very good baseball team, but we’ve seen them three times this year and we know exactly what to expect from them,” said Griffin, who now has 53 RBI on the season. “We’ll come ready to play. We’ll slow the game down and take it pitch by pitch. But we have a lot of confidence now.”

John Denton’s Knights Insider appears on 麻豆原创Athletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.

Griffin came to 麻豆原创 last season and showed a powerful bat in the second half of the year. The Bradenton, Fla., native carried that over into 2011 where he leads the league with 16 homers, a .618 slugging percentage and 139 total bases. He also ranks fourth with 74 hits and fifth with 47 RBI.

A semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy which is given out to the nation’s top player, Hicks also boasts some impressive power numbers. After redshirting last year, the 2009 C-USA All-Freshman Team performer is second in C-USA (behind Griffin) with a .583 slugging percentage, 119 total bases and 13 home runs. Meanwhile, Hicks, who hails from Altamonte Springs, Fla., leads the conference with 59 RBI, ranks seventh with a .338 average and eighth with a .424 on-base percentage.

And a product of Gulf Breeze, Fla., Lively made a statement right away for the Knights. The righty won his first-five collegiate starts, defeating Alabama, Dartmouth, Wagner, Columbia and Rice. Lively claims a 5-1 record with a 4.74 ERA, striking out 41 in 57.0 innings, including four in his most recent outing where he pitched 4.2 shutout innings against Marshall May 19.

Getting to Omaha sounded like a stretch since 麻豆原创 had not been to an NCAA Regional since 2004. But Rooney believed if you don’t talk about getting to college baseball’s ultimate destination, you never will get there.

The 2011 baseball version of the Knights just might be peaking at the right time as Rooney’s team heads to the conference tournament in Pearl, Miss. 麻豆原创 won five of its final six conference games and went from trying to hang on to the eighth spot in the league standings to a No. 4 seed as the postseason begins this Wednesday.

“I believe we are an NCAA team,” said Rooney. “I think we are as good as anyone in the country and have shown an ability to play at that level.”

With an RPI at 18 and a solid list of non-conference wins, 麻豆原创 enters the Conference USA Tournament feeling as if the team has done enough to earn an at-large bid to the NCAAs. Now Rooney’s team might be playing its way to a solid No.2 seed in a regional with a win or two in at least three games.

The Knights finished the regular season at 36-20 and played one of the nation’s toughest schedules. What gives 麻豆原创 a chance to play deep into the postseason is its ability to hit the long ball. The Knights led C-USA in home runs with 52. Senior first baseman Jonathan Griffin hit 16 homers and DH D.J. Hicks blasted 13 out-of-the-park.

“Any time you have a couple of guys who can go deep, every at-bat makes you a threat,” said Rooney. “Jonathan and D.J. are among the best in the country and we need that as we move forward.”

But the Knights have been more than Griffin and Hicks and home runs. Catcher Beau Taylor has been as hot as anyone in the country the last few weeks. Since moving back up the order from ninth to second, Taylor has hit almost .500.

Perhaps one at-bat has given Rooney hope that another big offensive weapon is returning. Shortstop Darnell Sweeney had struggled for the last few weeks. Sweeney showed signs of swinging like he did earlier in the year in the Marshall series this past weekend. But Sweeney belted his first homer of the season as part of a four-home run inning in Saturday’s regular-season finale. Sweeney seemed to let out a deep breath as he rounded the bases almost telling his teammates and fans that he is back at the plate and a threat moving forward.

Rooney may have also found depth when it comes to pitching. Senior Chase Bradford was brilliant in seven innings as the starter on Saturday to earn his sixth win in seven decisions. But freshman Ben Lively’s four-plus inning effort in Thursday night’s loss might be the biggest pitching news to note. Lively gave up no runs and seemed to regain his confidence which made him the ace of the staff earlier in the season. Add in the lefties of Joe Rogers, Nick Cicio and Johnny Sedlock out of the bullpen and 麻豆原创 may have the arms to play into late June.

“This team has done what we asked of them to get this far,” said Rooney. “Now we need to take things to another level as we move into the postseason.”

The postseason has not been something Rooney has had reason to get too excited about. But that’s about to change. His team heads to the league tournament knowing it has earned a place among the title contenders and the Knights expect to be playing in the NCAAs for the first time since 2004 and they are not just happy to possibly be back. There’s a place in Nebraska their coach has in mind and he expects his team to think as he does.

Source: Marc Daniels’ From the Press Boxruns several times per month on 麻豆原创Athletics.com. Listen to Marc during 麻豆原创 football, men’s basketball and baseball radio broadcasts on the 麻豆原创 Sports Network. Each weekday, Marc hosts The Beat of Sports on ESPN Radio 1080 in Orlando.

Griffin completed his work with a pair of doubles and drove in two, while Richardson added two RBI and scored two runs. Going yard for the Knights, D.J. Hicks capped off the five-run fourth with a three-run home run. It was Hicks’ 11th of the season and the 19th in two full seasons in a Black and Gold uniform, and it also allowed him to stretch his hitting streak to 10 games.

Toeing the rubber vs. the Bulls (22-22), Bryan Brown (2-1) matched a career-high with 5.0 innings, surrendering only two runs on five hits and striking out one to get the victory in his first start of the season.

“My freshman year I (pitched twice) against those guys and I didn’t feel too good about those games. So I really wanted to start,” said Brown. “Tonight my two-seam was working well, and the offense scoring early definitely made me more comfortable out there on the mound.”

麻豆原创 threatened immediately in the top of the first against righty Zach Pietrzyk, but stranded two runners with one out. In the home half vs. Brown, a slow roller by USF’s Jonathan Koscso resulted in a leadoff single, and after a sac bunt and single, Koscso scored on a groundout.

Although two hits did not produce a run in the top of the first, the Knights had two more hits in the second and this time succeeded when Beau Taylor lined a two-out, two-strike single into left-center to plate Travis Shreve from second. However the Bulls answered with another run in their version of the second to retake the lead at 2-1.

The opportunities continued to develop for the Black and Gold in the third, where Richardson singled off the first-base bag and touched second on a throwing error from Pietrzyk who attempted a pickoff play. Looking to even things back up again, Griffin fell behind 0-2 until going the opposite way for a RBI double to right. Following a single by Kevin Vasquez to place runners at the corners, Hempe fired a single to center and Derek Luciano completed the three-run frame with a sacrifice fly.

The Knights were not done. Lefty Trey Dahl entered from the pen in the fourth and witnessed 麻豆原创 load the bases with no outs, including a grounder back to the mound that Dahl picked up and simply dropped as he tried to throw to second. That would set the stage for a massive inning.

Entering Tuesday 2-for-4 on the year with the bases juiced, Richardson worked his way into a hitter’s count before lining a 2-0 pitch inside the third-base bag for a two-run double. Now ahead 6-2, Hicks pulled a line drive to right that had enough velocity on it to just clear the fence for a three-run jack. The five-run frame stretched 麻豆原创’s advantage to 9-2.

Brown preserved that lead through five innings and would take a seat in the sixth for Matt Collins, and the right-handed reliever pitched a scoreless frame, as did Hicks in the seventh.

Although the Bulls plated two runs in the eighth, Luciano’s two-out RBI single in the top of the ninth halted any chance at a USF comeback, and senior lefty Nick Cicio ventured from the pen in the ninth and breezed through the final frame to seal the win.

Game Notes

麻豆原创 – 28-17 Overall; South Florida – 22-22 Overall

“Coming out with a win in front of a huge crowd feels pretty good,” said Derek Luciano, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI and a homer. “We love playing in front of big crowds. We feel like we thrive in these conditions. The more people that are here the better, and they got us going tonight.”

A crowd of 3,601 fans flooded the gates to set a 麻豆原创 single-game attendance record, eclipsing the previous mark of 2,758 set vs. UF March 18, 2009.

“It was a great team win,” said head coach Terry Rooney. “We appreciate the great atmosphere. We had about 3,600 fans, and this is what college baseball is becoming throughout the entire country.

“When we got off the bus from East Carolina, people were mad and frustrated. I was too. But I said to the team that there are two things to understand. Number one is that we are going to keep believing that we are one of the best teams in the country. That’s where it starts. The second thing is that we are going to keep working. And this team has really responded.”

麻豆原创 kept Florida in check for seven innings with five different pitchers shutting down the Gators with two hits. But a six-run eighth made things interesting before Joe Rogers was able to wrap up the final 1.2 innings, striking out four.

The Black and Gold used a total of seven pitchers, and did not let UF get the leadoff batter on base until the eighth inning. During that stretch, the bullpen combined to retire 10-straight batters. Starter Chase Bradford was scheduled for just the first two innings and he made them count, not letting a Gator reach base to get the win (3-1).

Along with Luciano’s three RBI, Chris Taladay chipped in three as well, all with two outs, and Beau Taylor racked up three hits from the No. 9 hole.

Bradford made the first two innings look easy, retiring all six batters he faced in his short start, striking out two in the process. That set up the bottom of the second vs. Tommy Toledo where Erik Hempe added a one-out single and would eventually touch home when Travis Shreve lined a two-out RBI single into left-center.

With a 1-0 lead and Rooney sticking with his plan to use multiple pitchers, he sent out Alex Besaw for the third and the senior did face a slight jam but left two runners aboard by getting Bryson Smith to fly out softly to right.

The Knights then attempted to increase its advantage in the home half as Taylor led off with a single and was sacrificed to second by Darnell Sweeney. Following a walk to Ronnie Richardson, D.J. Hicks grounded out and Jonathan Griffin was plunked to load them up with two down. Alex Panteliodis then watched as Taladay hammered the first pitch of the at-bat into center to plate a pair of runs.

That 3-0 cushion remained intact in the fourth thanks to Brennan Dobbins forcing Brian Johnson to ground into an inning-ending 4-3 double play, and again in the fifth with Bryan Brown working a perfect frame.

With the pitching staff dealing, 麻豆原创 stretched it to 5-0 in the fifth. Kick-started by a double inside the third-base bag by Richardson, the center fielder touched third with two down and even though he faced a 0-2 count, Taladay sent a RBI single into left-center. And the Knights were not done. Following a base hit out of Hempe, Luciano took a 2-0 offering and sent it to left to bring in Taladay.

As the bats produced runs, the arms were producing zeros, highlighted by Nick Cicio tossing perfect innings in the sixth and seventh. And the offense was not satisfied with its 5-0 advantage when it strode to the plate for the seventh. Hicks greeted Anthony DeSclafani by turning on a 0-2 pitch, crushing it over the right-field wall for a solo shot, and with Griffin aboard with two down, Luciano lined a two-run homer into the 麻豆原创 bullpen in right.

Holding a commanding 8-0 lead, 麻豆原创 witnessed Florida take off. After a two-run home run by Tyler Thompson vs. Hicks, the righty got into trouble by loading them up with one out, giving way to Rogers. And the southpaw was taken deep to right as Preston Tucker demolished a grand slam to make it 8-6.

With Florida’s dugout now carrying all of the momentum, Rogers settled the visitors down. Working around a leadoff error in the ninth, he struck out Jeff Moyer, picked up the second out on a great defensive play from Sweeney at short and then fanned pinch-hitter Ben McMahan on an 0-2 pitch to finally end it.

The Knights now leave for Tennessee Thursday to prepare for a three-game Conference USA series at Memphis Friday-Sunday.

Game Notes