Baseball Outlasted by No. 10 West Virginia in Game Two, 15-10Baseball Outlasted by No. 10 West Virginia in Game Two, 15-10

Baseball Outlasted by No. 10 West Virginia in Game Two, 15-10

by Adrian Delgado
Box Score

ORLANDO – UCF baseball ultimately fell short 15-10 in a back and forth four-hour and forty-three-minute matchup against No.10 West Virginia on Saturday night at John Euliano Park.

The first-place Mountaineers (36-5 overall, 15-3 Big 12) struck first, scoring five runs off of five hits in the top of the first. The Knights (23-19 overall, 6-14 Big 12) didn’t let them go unanswered, however, as consecutive walks by DeAmez Ross and Antonio Jimenez got a rally brewing in the bottom of the first. Andrew Williamson then singled to center field, scoring Ross and placing runners on the corners with nobody out. Andrew Sundean stepped to the plate and wasted no time, sending the first pitch 363 feet over the left field wall, making it a 5-4 contest. The home run marked Sundean’s fifth of the season and fourth within the last eight games. He is also now tied for eighth amongst UCF’s all-time home run leaders with 32 for his career.

After a shaky first, Russell Sandefer settled down and retired eight straight batters before being relieved by Angelo Smith in the top of fifth.

“That’s tough. Five-nothing and then we get the one run, then Sunny hits the three-run home run to make it 5-4. Then Russel Sandefer goes out there, puts that behind him and pitches us into the middle of the game, which is really tough for a young guy. He gave us a chance to win,” head coach Rich Wallace said.

In the bottom of the fourth, Matt Prevesk led the inning off with a double to right field and advanced to third courtesy of a sac bunt by Ross. He would score via a single through the infield by Jimenez, tying the game at 5-5. The Black and Gold took the lead when Sundean collected his third hit of the game, a double, scoring Jimenez and giving the Knights a one-run advantage.

WVU strung together consecutive singles in the top of the fifth to put a runner on second. He would score after tagging up on consecutive flyouts to tie the game once again. UCF answered back in the bottom of the inning. With Ross ripping a double to right center. After the double, the Mountaineers elected to walk Jimenez and Williamson reached after a hit by pitch to load the bases. With two outs in the inning, Sundean worked a bases-loaded walk for his fifth RBI of the game to give the Knights a 7-6 lead.

The back-and-forth nature of the game continued in the seventh when West Virginia tied it, again, at 7-all after a leadoff single and an error. In the bottom of the inning, both Ross and Jimenez collected their second hits of the game in consecutive at-bats. Williamson brought in Ross with an RBI groundout, giving the Black and Gold their third lead of the game.

The Mountaineers took their first lead since the fourth inning, however, in the top of the eighth with a four-run frame to make it an 11-8 ballgame. The Knights still showed fight despite the deficit. Edian Espinal reached on a fielding error, Dylan King walked and Prevesk knocked a single to center to load the bases with one out in the bottom of the eighth. Ross battled and earned an eight-pitch walk for his first RBI of the game, Jimenez followed up with a sacrifice fly to cut West Virginia's lead to one. WVU, however, put the game out of reach with another four-run inning in the top of the ninth, which was capped by a three-run home run by Ben Lumsden.

“It’s a tough loss. We just have to play better baseball, pay attention to the little things a little bit better, not take anything for granted and be a little bit more aware of a couple situations out there. We’re getting better and are headed in the right direction,” shortstop Jimenez said.

Sundean led UCF offensively by going 3-for-5 with a game-high five RBIs. The senior collected a total of seven bases and finished just a triple shy of the cycle. Ross reached base a total of four times with two hits, two walks, three runs and an RBI. Jimenez finished 2-for-2, with two RBIs and two runs scored. Gavin Kelly and Lemsden paced the Mountaineers by driving in three runs apiece.

WVU reliever Chase Meyer earned the win to move to 8-1 on the year while Casen Estridge recorded his second save of the weekend and his fifth of the season. Kris Sosnowski was tagged with the loss in relief for the Knights to drop to 2-3.

The Black and Gold will look to salvage a game on the weekend in series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m. Following Sunday’s contest, UCF will host North Florida in midweek action on Tuesday at 6 p.m.