ORLANDO – After having a non-conference series last weekend, the UCF baseball team will return to Big 12 Conference play this weekend by hosting Cincinnati for a three-game set.
The league series will run Friday to Sunday at John Euliano Park and will cap an eight-game homestand for the Knights. Friday and Saturday’s contests are both set for 6 p.m., while first pitch for Sunday’s finale is set for 1 p.m. All three games will air live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and all three games will also be on the radio on 96.9 The Game. Live stats for the series will also be available by visiting ucf.statbroadcast.com.
The Black and Gold will enter the weekend with a 25-13 overall record and an 8-10 league mark. UCF has won four of its last five games and is currently receiving votes for both the ESPN/USA Today Coaches and NCBWA polls this week. The Knights also hold the second highest RPI in the Big 12, as they currently hold down the nation’s 24th-best Rating Percentage Index. During their current homestand, the Black and Gold defeated both North Florida (10-3) and FGCU (10-3) in midweek action as well as took two of three from Central Michigan (0-2, 17-2, 23-3) last weekend.
After tying a single-game school record with eight home runs in Sunday’s finale against Central Michigan, UCF followed that up by hitting two more round trippers on Tuesday en route to defeating FGCU by a score of 10-3. With Tuesday’s win, the Black and Gold moved to 9-1 in midweek contests and 11-2 against in-state foes on the season.
On Tuesday against FGCU, AJ Nessler hit out his first home run as a Knight in the fourth inning with a two-run shot to left field and Lex Boedicker capped the scoring with his fifth homer of the season in the eighth inning via a three-run shot. Nessler finished going 2-for-3 with two walks, three runs batted in, and four runs scored, while Boedicker went 1-for-4 with two runs scored and three runs batted in. With Nessler’s fourth inning round tripper, he became the 12th different UCF slugger to hit a home run on the season.
The Knight pitching staff also had another good outing in the contest, as seven pitchers combined to give up just three runs on the evening. Tyler Nesbitt started and surrendered just one run on four hits over three-plus innings, while Spencer Bauer, Kyle Kramer, Kris Sosnowski, and Najer Victor followed by combining to toss four scoreless frames. Dominic Castellano and Chase Centala then came on over the final two innings to finish things off. Bauer picked up his first win of the season in relief to move to 1-1 on the year.
Over the past five games, Jack Zyska and Nessler have led UCF at the plate with respective .529 and .526 averages. Zyska is 9-for-17 with two doubles, a homer, six runs scored, and eight RBIs, while Nessler is 10-for-19 with two doubles, a triple, a homer, 10 runs scored and eight runs batted in. Freshman Andrew Williamson is next with a .467 average, two extra-base hits and eight runs scored, while Matt Prevesk is batting .450 over the last five games with two extra-base hits and a team-best nine RBIs. Relievers Bauer, Kramer, Victor, and freshman Tyler Kozera have combined to toss 12.0 innings of scoreless relief over the past week. Dom Stagliano had the best start by allowing just two runs on five hits while striking out a season-high seven batters to earn the victory last Saturday against CMU.
On the season, the junior outfielder Prevesk leads the Knights offensively and ranks seventh in the Big 12 with a .363 batting average. He also has 13 extra-base hits, 31 runs scored, 29 RBIs, and a .925 OPS. The senior Zyska is next with a .331 clip, and team-best tallies of seven home runs, 36 runs scored, and a .983 OPS. Lex Boedicker follows with a .294 batting average and leads the team in doubles with 11 and RBIs with 33. The right-hander Stagliano paces the Knight starting rotation with a 3.94 ERA and is limiting opposing hitters to just a .211 average. Senior Ben Vespi is next with a 2-2 record and leads the way in strikeouts with 46 over 45.2 innings. From the bullpen, the senior Kramer is 5-2 with a 2.33 ERA over a team-high 22 appearances, while fellow senior Chase Centala not only fronts the team but also the Big 12 Conference in saves with seven.
UCF assistant coach Ted Tom previously spent three seasons on Cincinnati’s staff (2015-17), while senior right-hander Cade Boxrucker hails from just outside of Cincinnati as he’s from West Chester, Ohio (Badin HS). Boedicker too hails from the state of Ohio as he’s from Lima (Bath HS), which is located two hours north of Cincinnati.
Scheduled Starting Pitchers vs. Cincinnati
Senior RHP Vespi will make his 11th consecutive Friday night start for the Knights in the series opener. Vespi will enter play with a 2-2 record and a 5.12 ERA. Junior right-hander Stagliano is scheduled to get the ball for his ninth weekend start on Saturday. Stagliano will enter the weekend with a 2-3 record and a 3.94 ERA. The Bearcats will go with Seth Logue (2-3, 7.44 ERA) on Friday and Nathan Taylor (6-1, 6.61 ERA) on Saturday. Sunday’s starters for both UCF and UC are yet-to-be-announced.
About Cincinnati
Cincinnati will enter the series with a 23-18 overall record and currently tied for sixth in the Big 12 standings with a 9-9 league mark. The Bearcats took two of three from Houston at home last weekend and also hold Big 12 series wins on the season over Kansas and TCU. UC has won three of its last five ballgames. Also in their first year in the Big 12, the Bearcats were picked to tie for 12th in conference play this year after going 24-33 overall and tying for fifth in the AAC last year with a 10-14 record.
Josh Hegemann leads UC offensively on the year with a .358 average. Christian Mitchelle is next with a .330 clip, while Josh Kross is batting .317 and leads the squad in the power numbers with 13 homers, 10 doubles and 53 runs batted in. Kross’ 53 RBIs are good enough to lead the Big 12 Conference. Saturday’s scheduled starter Taylor fronts Cincinnati’s starting rotation with a 6-1 record, 6.07 ERA, and 51 strikeouts over 46.0 innings. Two-way player Mitchelle holds a team-best five saves and a 3.00 ERA.
The Bearcats are coached by Jordan Bischel, who is in his first season at Cincinnati. Bischel will enter play with a 23-18 record at UC and a 200-98 NCAA Division I mark, after previously compiling a 177-80 clip in five years at Central Michigan.
All-Time Series History
Friday’s opener will be the 33rd all-time meeting between the Knights and Bearcats. The Black and Gold will enter play holding to a 19-13 series lead and an 8-4 advantage at home. UCF won three of four meetings last year, including a 4-3 victory at the AAC Tournament thanks to a walk-off home run from Andrew Brait. As former conference foes in The American, UCF and UC have played each other each season since 2014 (excluding the COVID shortened 2020 campaign).
Knights 11-2 vs. Sunshine State Foes, 9-1 in Midweek Action
UCF is off to an 11-2 start against in-state foes in 2024 thanks to road wins over No. 4 Florida, Miami, Florida Atlantic, Jacksonville, and Bethune-Cookman as well as home midweek wins over Stetson, FAU, UNF, and FGCU and taking two of three at home from South Florida. The Knights are also 9-1 in midweek contests after opening the year 7-0. In midweek games, UCF has outscored its midweek opponents 80 to 33.
Top-25 in the RPI
UCF holds the second highest RPI in the Big 12 Conference, as it enters the weekend with the nation’s 24th-best RPI. The Knights have been ranked as high as third nationally in the RPI this year, as they were ranked No. 3 in that category in early March. UCF was also ranked in the Top 25 for the first two weeks of April and made it as high as No. 16 by the NCBWA and No. 17 by D1Baseball and Perfect Game on the April 8 poll. It marked the first time that the Knights had been in the Top 25 since February of 2021.
On Deck
After eight consecutive home games, the Knights will hit the road next week for a midweek contest at North Florida on Tuesday, April 30, before heading to Houston for a three-game Big 12 series at the UH Cougars next weekend (May 3-5).