ORLANDO – The UCF baseball team will open a stretch in which it will play eight of its next nine games at home on Tuesday by hosting Florida A&M in midweek action.
The in-state contest will begin at 6 p.m. at John Euliano Park. The ballgame will air live on ESPN+ and live stats will also be available by visiting UCF.Statbroadcast.com.
The Knights will enter Tuesday with a 19-16 overall record and a 4-11 Big 12 Conference mark after dropping two of three at Kansas State over the weekend. UCF first tallied 20 hits en route to topping K-State 15-3 in Friday’s opener, but the Wildcats responded by pulling out the final two games by scores of 3-1 and 8-6.
In Friday’s opener, Chase Krewson led the way by going a perfect 5-for-5 at the plate. Aris Rivera followed by going 4-for-6 and Antonio Jimenez had a pair of extra-base hits and a game-high four RBIs. Jimenez set the tone for the Black and Gold early with a three-run first-inning home run.
The Black and Gold posted a crooked number early with five runs in the first inning to jump out to a quick lead. K-State countered with three runs over the first two innings, but UCF would go on to score 10 unanswered runs to claim the series opener. The 15 runs and the 20 hits marked the most by the Black and Gold in a Big 12 Conference game.
UCF reliever Angelo Smith, who entered with one out in the second inning, pitched well in relief over the middle innings for the Knights. He went a season-long 4.0 innings and didn’t allow a run on three hits and struck out three while not walking a batter. He also induced a pair of double plays while on the mound to keep the Wildcats off the board.
In all, the three relievers combined to toss 7.2 innings of scoreless relief and UCF’s staff did not issue a free pass in the ballgame. Following Smith, Dominic Castellano pitched 2.1 scoreless frames in which he struck out a season-high six batters and allowed just two hits, and Kevin Schoneboom finished things off by tossing the final 1.1 innings of scoreless and hitless relief.
Seven of UCF’s nine position players tallied multiple hits on the night. Krewson’s 5-for-5 performance marked UCF’s first five-hit game since 2023, while Rivera tallied his first four-hit game at the NCAA Division I level.
The Black and Gold again got off to a strong start in game two as they built an early 1-0 advantage over the Wildcats on Saturday behind a second-inning RBI hit from Lex Boedicker. In his first start as a Knight, sophomore Russell Sandefer gave UCF 5.0 shutout innings to help UCF hold the lead early. But K-State would manage to score a trio of runs in the sixth inning and would go on to pull out game two 3-1.
Kansas State took the upper hand on Sunday by scoring the first eight runs of the game to build an 8-0 advantage. UCF then got solo home runs from Jimenez and Andrew Sundean in the seventh and eighth innings to cut it to 8-2. The Knights then rallied for four runs in the ninth and had the tying runners in scoring position with two outs, but K-State’s James Guyette came on and recorded a game-ending strikeout to halt the comeback.
Kendrey Maduro led UCF in the series by hitting an even .500 (6-for-12) with a pair of doubles. Krewson was next by hitting .417, while Jimenez batted .385 with two homers, three doubles, five runs batted in, and five runs scored. Sandefer, Smith, Schoneboom, Alex Galvan and Isaac Williams all didn’t surrender an earned run from the mound in the series.
On the season, Edian Espinal leads the Knights from the plate with a .367 batting average, .473 on-base percentage and eight stolen bases. DeAmez Ross is next with a .358 average and a team-leading 53 hits, while Boedicker is batting .341 and leads the team in RBIs with 37. Andrew Williamson fronts the squads in doubles with 14 and is tied with Jimenez for the team-lead in homers with seven. Wiley Hartley leads the starting rotation with a 4-1 record and 41.1 innings pitched, while Sandefer is tops in ERA with a 1.44 clip and Castellano paces the team with a 5-1 record and 41 strikeouts in 28.1 innings of work.
ABOUT FLORIDA A&M
The Rattlers will come to Orlando with a 19-15 overall record and currently tied for first place in the SWAC with a 13-2 conference record. Prior to falling on Sunday at Mississippi Valley State, Florida A&M had won seven straight league games. FAMU will enter Tuesday having won five of its last seven contests. The Rattlers were picked to finish fifth in the SWAC Preseason Poll this season after going 29-27 overall and winning the SWAC East Division last year with a 22-8 conference mark.
Broedy Poppell fronts Florida A&M with a .364 batting average, 28 runs scored, five stolen bases and is tied for the team lead with seven homers and is second in RBIs with 21. Jay Campbell is next with a .333 average and leads in doubles with seven. William Brown and Josue Figueroa are tied for the team lead in RBIs with 24 and home runs with seven. SWAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year Caleb Granger fronts FAMU’s starting rotation with a 3-0 record and a 2.08 ERA. Carson Kelly paces the team from the bullpen with a 3-1 record, 2.34 ERA, two saves and a team-best 31 strikeouts.
The Rattlers are coached by Jamey Shouppe, who is in his 12th season as head coach.
ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY VS. FLORIDA A&M
Tuesday’s contest will mark the 24th all-time meeting between the Knights and Rattlers. UCF will enter holding a 20-2-1 all-time advantage and having won 10 straight meetings between the two. The Black and Gold also hold a 15-1-1 all-time advantage in Orlando and haven’t lost to FAMU since 2003.
HITTING ON ALL CYLINDERS
As a team, the Knights currently hold the 11th-best team batting average in the nation with a .323 average. UCF currently has eight players with 25 or more at-bats hitting above .300 and three batting over .340 in Edian Espinal (.367), DeAmez Ross (.358) and Lex Boedicker (.341).
SUNSHINE STATE SUCCESS
Under head coach Rich Wallace, the Black and Gold have had success against in-state opponents. Under Wallace, UCF is 20-8 in games against teams from the state of Florida. Wallace’s 2024 squad went 14-4, which included beating the then ranked No. 4 Florida in Gainesville, a series win over USF, and a win over Stetson in the Tallahassee Regional.
This season UCF is 6-4 against in-state opponents. Those wins include two victories to earn a series win over USF, a 13-3 win over No. 6 Florida and a 14-4 victory over Miami. This was the second year in a row that the Knights under head coach Rich Wallace have knocked off the Gators, as well as the sixth overall straight victory over the Gators. Two more of those wins have come over Stetson, as UCF has shut out the Hatters twice on the season.
HE GETS ON BASE
Andrew Williamson has been Mr. Consistent for the Knights. Williamson recently had a reached base safely streak come to a close at 31 games, the longest streak on the team this season.
Williamson also has a knack for reaching extra bases. He currently has hit 14 doubles, which is the second-most in the Big 12 and good enough to rank him 31st nationally.
He also leads the team with a .623 slugging percentage. His current slugging percentage is just outside the top 10 for the highest slugging percentage in a single season in the UCF record books.
THE HITMAN
One thing is for sure, when DeAmez Ross is up to bat, it is almost certain he is going to hit that ball. Ross, who has a .358 batting average, has recorded 53 hits this season, the second most in the Big 12. At one point he had an 18-game hitting streak, the longest by any UCF player this season. He also has the most multiple-hit games on the team with 16. His most recent multiple hit game came in the series opener at Kansas State, where he went 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, an RBI, and two runs scored.
Ross’ play has made him a nightmare for pitchers. His 9.9 rate currently makes him the fourth hardest player to strike out in the Big 12.
JIMENEZ SWINGING A HOT BAT
Sophomore shortstop Antonio Jimenez has been swinging a hot bat as of late, as he leads the team with a current 17-game reached base safely streak. Jimenez, who homered twice this past weekend at K-State to tie for the team lead in round trippers with seven, has upped his batting average to .305. He also leads the team in runs scored with 37 and is third on the team in RBIs with 30.
ON DECK
The Knights will continue the home stretch by welcoming No. 15 TCU to John Euliano Park for a three-game Big 12 series. The series will run Thursday to Saturday with Thursday and Friday’s game times set for 6 p.m. and Saturday’s scheduled for a 12 p.m. start.
Back to Work at JEP. pic.twitter.com/s8snhEbsTx
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) April 14, 2025