ORLANDO – Fresh off a series win over the ranked TCU Horned Frogs followed by a midweek victory at Florida Atlantic, the UCF baseball team will welcome first place and 10th-ranked West Virginia to town for a three-game Big 12 series this weekend.
The series will run Friday to Sunday at John Euliano Park. Friday and Saturday’s games are set for 6 p.m. while Sunday’s finale will begin at 1 p.m. All three games will be broadcast live on ESPN+ as well as on the radio. Friday’s opener will air on 810 AM Orlando, while Saturday and Sunday’s will be on FM 96.9 The Game. Live stats will also be available for the games by visiting UCF.Statbroadcast.com.
The Knights will enter the weekend having won three straight and four of their last five after taking two of three from No. 15 TCU at home last weekend, as well as routing in-state foe Florida Atlantic in seven innings by a score of 17-2 on Tuesday in Boca Raton. The series win over the 15th-ranked Horned Frogs marked UCF’s first series victory over a ranked opponent since February of 2021 when it took two of three at No. 1 Ole Miss.
After dropping the opener to TCU last Thursday, the Black and Gold responded by winning games two and three behind strong pitching by scores of 5-1 and 4-2. UCF got a pair of home runs in each game and stellar starts from right-handers Russell Sandefer (Friday) and Matt Sauser (Saturday) en route to taking the series.
In Friday’s contest, Sandefer went a season-long 5.2 innings and struck out a career-high eight batters while allowing just one run on six hits to put the Knights in a good position in the ballgame. Senior reliever Dominic Castellano then came on and shut the door on the TCU offense by tossing the final 3.1 innings of scoreless relief to earn the save. Castellano struck out a season-high seven batters and allowed just two hits.
Chase Krewson and Dylan King both homered in Friday’s victory and Antonio Jimenez led the way by going 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and a run scored.
In his first weekend start as a Knight, the sophomore Sauser then followed on Saturday by going a career-long 8.0 innings and striking out a career-high eight batters to help lead the Black and Gold to the series win. Sauser surrendered just two runs on five hits and didn’t walk a batter on the afternoon. He also faced the minimum in six of his eight innings of work, which included a stretch in which he retired 14 straight batters. Alex Galvan then came on in a 4-2 game with a runner aboard in the ninth and promptly retired the first three batters he faced to secure the victory.
Andrew Sundean and Andrew Williamson both homered in Saturday’s game for UCF. Sundean tied things up early with a solo homer in the bottom of the second and Williamson capped the scoring by tacking on some insurance with a solo shot of his own in the seventh.
The Knights continued to stay hot by scoring in bunches early at FAU on their way to a 17-2 run-rule victory on Tuesday. UCF scored four runs in the first, four in the second and six in the fourth to jump out to a commanding 14-1 lead. Grant Siegel also pitched well on the mound for the Black and Gold, as he went the full 7.0 innings on his way to earning a seven-inning complete-game victory. The 7.0 innings matched a career-high for Siegel and he also struck out a season-best seven batters while allowing just two runs on five hits.
All nine Black and Gold starters recorded hits in the contest. DeAmez Ross led the way with three hits and a career-best five runs batted in. Jimenez and Williamson were next by driving in three runs apiece. Jimenez, Lex Boedicker and Kendrey Maduro also tallied multiple hits in the game by all recording two hits apiece.
On the season, Edian Espinal leads the team with a .352 batting average. Ross is next with a .345 average and fronts the team and the Big 12 Conference in hits with 59. Jimenez hold a .331 average and team-leading tallies of 40 runs scored and nine stolen bases, while Williamson leads in the power numbers with 14 doubles, eight home runs and 40 RBIs. Sophomore right-hander Russell Sandefer paces the starting rotation with a 1.47 ERA, while Matt Sauser is a perfect 3-0 and also holds an impressive 1.82 ERA. Alex Galvan tops the bullpen with a 1.61 ERA and two saves and southpaw Dominic Castellano leads the team in both wins (5-1) and strikeouts (48).
SCHEDULED STARTING PITCHERS FOR THE SERIES
A trio of sophomore right-handers will get the start on the mound for UCF this week. Camden Wicker will take the ball in game one for his fourth consecutive Friday night start (0-1, 5.29 ERA), while Russell Sandefer will get the ball in game two for the third straight week (2-2, 1.47 ERA) and Matt Sauser will start on Sunday for the second straight weekend (3-0, 1.82 ERA). WVU will go with southpaw Griffin Kirn on Friday (4-0, 3.68 ERA), RHP Gavin Van Kempen on Saturday (2-0, 5.25 ERA) and fellow righty Jack Kartsonas on Sunday (4-1, 1.78 ERA).
ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA
The Mountaineers will enter the weekend currently in first place in the Big 12 standings with an impressive 34-5 overall record and a 13-6 conference mark. WVU is ranked 10th nationally this week by the NCBWA and 17th by D1Baseball. West Virginia had a 14-game win streak come to a close on Tuesday in a tightly contested 3-2 setback at Penn State. WVU has won five of its six Big 12 series on the season, which includes sweeps over Utah, Houston and Cincinnati. The Mountaineers were picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 this season after finishing fourth a season ago with a 19-11 league record. West Virginia won the Tucson Regional last season to advance to a Super Regional (Chapel Hill Super Regional).
Sam White leads the Mountaineers with a .369 batting average. Skylar King is right behind him with a .366 clip and fronts in hits (49) and stolen bases (12). Jace Rinehart is batting .354 and paces the team in doubles with 13, homers with seven and RBIs with 39. Preseason All-Big 12 honoree Logan Sauve is tied for the team lead in home runs with seven. Left-hander Griffin Kirn fronts the starting rotation with a 4-0 record, 3.68 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 51.1 innings. Relievers Reese Bassinger (4-0, 2.92 ERA, 5 SV) and Chase Meyer (7-1, 2.43 ERA) lead the bullpen and were both recently named to the NCBWA Midseason Stopper of the Year Watch List.
WVU is coached by Steve Sabins, who is in his first year at the helm in Morgantown.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Friday’s opener will mark just the fifth all-time meeting between the Knights and Mountaineers. UCF will enter the series trailing 3-1 after WVU recorded a series sweep in Morgantown last year. Friday’s opener will also mark the first contest between the Black and Gold and Mountaineers in Orlando. WVU pulled out the three tightly contested games last year by scores of 7-6, 7-5 and 11-10 in 11 innings.
HITTING ON ALL CYLINDERS
As a team, the Knights currently hold the 11th-best team batting average in the nation as well as lead the Big 12 with a .319 average. UCF currently has eight players with 25 or more at-bats hitting above .300 and four batting over .330 in Edian Espinal (.352), DeAmez Ross (.345), Lex Boedicker (.336) and Antonio Jimenez (.331).
HE GETS ON BASE
Antonio Jimenez currently holds the longest active reached-base streak on the team. In the Knights’ last game, a 17-2 win at Florida Atlantic, he extended the streak to 22 games by going 2-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs and two runs scored.
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 .345 batting average, has recorded 59 hits this season, the second most in the Big 12 and 17th-best nationally. He had an 18-game hitting streak recently, the longest by any player this season. He also has the most multiple-hit games on the team with 17.
Ross’ play has made him a nightmare for pitchers. His 10.1 rate currently makes him the fourth hardest player to strike out in the Big 12.
SAUSER TABBED BIG 12 CO-PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Sauser was tabbed the Big 12 Co-Pitcher of the Week after going a career-long 8.0 innings while striking out a career-best eight batters en route to leading UCF to a 4-2 Saturday victory to earn the series win over the Horned Frogs. In his first weekend start as a Knight, the Florida State transfer allowed just two runs on five hits while striking out the eight batters and not issuing a walk. He faced the minimum in six of his eight innings of work, which included a stretch in which he retired 14 straight batters. Over 104 total pitches, Sauser threw 77 for strikes.
The 8.0-inning outing marked the longest of the season for UCF. With the win, he moved to a perfect 3-0 on the year and also holds a 1.82 ERA over 24.2 innings.
JIMENEZ NAMED TO BROOKS WALLACE AWARD WATCH LIST
In an award given to the best collegiate shortstop, UCF sophomore Antonio Jimenez was named to the Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award Watch List. Jimenez was one of 100 shortstops and one of seven from the Big 12 Conference to make the cut on April 18. He is currently batting over .330 on the season and has reached base safely in 22 straight games. He also has 51 putouts, 93 assists and a .966 fielding percentage.
ON DECK
Following this weekend’s action, UCF will close a four-game homestand against North Florida on Tuesday at John Euliano Park. Following Tuesday’s midweek, the Knights will hit the road for a seven-game road trip that will take them to Oklahoma State, Missouri State and Texas Tech.
Another Ranked Series at JEP 🔜 pic.twitter.com/5QcP3Bv1iA
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) April 24, 2025