Danielak Dazzles as Big Green Clinch Series at No. 26 UCF

Saturday, March 25

Orlando, Fla.

6:30 PM

Dartmouth College

10-5

UCF

18-6

Dartmouth

UCF

Danielak Dazzles as Big Green Clinch Series at No. 26 UCF

3/25/2017 9:22:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Dartmouth

LINE SCORE
TEAM	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
DARTMOUTH	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	4	8	0
#26 UCF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	7	3

ORLANDO, Fla. — Senior Michael Danielak dazzled on the mound on Saturday night at Jay Bergman Field, surrendering just one run over eight innings with eight strikeouts to lead the visiting Dartmouth Big Green (10-5) to a 4-1 victory over the No. 26 UCF Knights (18-6). This is the fourth Dartmouth victory over a nationally ranked team this season, twice as many as it has earned in any other season.

Danielak (4-0) picked up his fourth win in as many starts while allowing six hits in his season-high eight innings of work. The right-hander held the Knights scoreless for the first seven stanzas, throwing 104 pitches on the evening without walking a batter. He also fanned at least one batter in seven of the eight innings, two of which came with a man on third and one out.

Senior Chris Burkholder pitched a scoreless ninth to earn a save — his fifth of the season — for the second straight night.

Dartmouth had an opportunity to put some runs on the board in the second with the bases loaded and one out, but Knight right-hander Juan Pimentel wiggled out of the jam with a strikeout and a fly to right.

All four Big Green runs crossed the plate in the sixth inning, however, thanks in part to a pair of UCF errors. Junior Dustin Shirley reached on a miscue to lead things off, and after stealing second one out later, junior Kyle Holbrook walked and freshman Michael Calamari singled to load the bases. Junior Justin Fowler followed by hitting a ball back up the middle that was slightly deflected by the pitcher right to the second baseman, but the ball went through his legs for an error, allowing two runs to score. After senior Adam Gauthier walked with two down to fill the bases again, freshman Trevor Johnson delivered a clutch two-run single back through the box for a 4-0 Dartmouth lead.

That was the end of the night for Pimentel (5-1), who finished up having allowed four unearned runs on seven hits and two walks over 5.2 innings with five strikeouts.

Danielak, meanwhile, was putting goose eggs on the board. The first scoring threat he faced came in the third when the Knights put runners on second and third with one down. But the big right-hander pumped a third strike past UCF's top hitter, Rylan Thomas, then got the third out on a weak grounder to third.

Ryan Crile hit a one-out triple in the fourth to give the Knights another scoring opportunity. Again Danielak whiffed a hitter for the second out and on the next pitch induced a foul pop to third to escape unscathed.

Over the next three frames, UCF managed just one base runner on a two-out single in the fifth. But Josh Moser ended the shutout bid leading off the eighth, sending the first pitch over the fence for his second home run of the season. Danielak responded by striking out the next hitter and finished the inning with the 4-1 score intact, and Burkholder shut the door in the ninth.

Dartmouth had eight hits on the night with four players — Johnson, Holbrook, Calamari and sophomore Nate Ostmo — collecting two apiece.

The series will conclude on Sunday at noon as the Big Green go for the sweep. Senior RHP Jackson Bubala (0-1, 8.59) will take the mound for Dartmouth, and UCF will counter with LHP Joseph Sheridan (3-2, 4.35).

Notes: Dartmouth's other series victory over a ranked opponent this year came on March 3-5 at then-17th-ranked Miami, taking two of three ... the Big Green have won three straight games for the first time this season ... sophomore Matt Feinstein had his eight-game hitting streak end, and senior Michael Ketchmark went 0-for-4, snapping his streak of 14 straight games reaching base to start the season ... Danielak lowered his ERA to 1.98 on the season, striking out 28 batters in 27.1 innings ... Burkholder has more saves this year than his first three seasons with the Big Green combined (4).