ORLANDO – The UCF baseball team will close a four-game homestand and a stretch in which it has played eight of its last nine games at home Tuesday when it welcomes in-state foe North Florida to John Euliano Park.
The contest is set for 6 p.m. and will mark the Black and Gold’s final game against a Sunshine State opponent on the season. Tuesday’s midweek will air live on ESPN+ and live stats can also be followed by visiting UCF.Statbroadcast.com.
The Knights (23-20, 6-15 Big 12) will enter Tuesday having dropped three straight after getting swept by first place and 10th-ranked West Virginia over the weekend. WVU claimed the games by scores of 4-1, 15-10 and 4-3. Despite dropping the three contests, UCF outhit the Mountaineers in each game, as the Knights tallied 34 hits on the weekend to just 21 for West Virginia.
After four scoreless innings in game one and Camden Wicker pitching well early, each team scored a run in the fifth inning. WVU then added a run in the seventh and two more in the eighth to take the opener.
In a back-and-forth slugfest in game two that saw 14 combined pitchers and took four hours and forty-three minutes, West Virginia managed to pull ahead late with four runs in the eighth and four more in the ninth to pull out game two. UCF then looked to salvage a game on Sunday by holding a 2-1 lead in the early stages, but WVU scored three runs in the fifth and held on down the stretch to record the sweep.
Junior outfielder DeAmez Ross led the Knights offensively on the weekend by hitting an impressive .750 in the series (9-for-12) with a trio of doubles, four runs scored and four runs batted in. He saved his best game for last by going 4-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs on Sunday. Senior designated hitter Andrew Sundean was next by batting .462 (6-for-13) with a home run, a double and five RBIs on the weekend, while both Andrew Williamson and Edian Espinal each hit .333. Wicker led the starting rotation by giving up just one run on no hits over 5.0 innings in game one, while left-hander Dominic Castellano didn’t allow an earned run over and gave up just one hit over 5.1 innings. He retired the last 13 batters he faced over a season-long 4.1 innings on Sunday.
Prior to the WVU series, UCF routed Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton last Tuesday by a score of 17-2. The Knights scored early and often en route to recording the run-rule victory. All nine Black and Gold starters recorded hits in the contest. Ross led the way with three hits and a career-best five runs batted in. Grant Siegel went the full 7.0 innings on the mound 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.
Ross leads UCF on the season with a .372 batting average, 24 runs scored and 10 stolen bases. He also fronts the Knights and the Big 12 Conference in hits with 68. Espinal is next with a .350 clip, while Williamson is batting .327 and leads the team in doubles with 15, homers with eight and RBIs with 43. Matt Sauser fronts the starting rotation with 3-1 record, 2.76 ERA and is limiting opposing batters to just a .207 average. Alex Galvan is one of the top arms from the bullpen with a 2.70 ERA and two saves, while Castellano is 5-1 and leads the way in strikeouts with 51 over 37.0 innings of work.
SCHEDULED STARTING PITCHERS FOR TUESDAY
Fresh off a seven-inning complete-game victory at FAU last Tuesday, right-hander Grant Siegel will get the start again this Tuesday for UCF. Siegel will enter play with a 4-2 record, 4.03 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 38.0 innings. UNF will go with senior RHP Tommy Groom (0-0, 2.70 ERA). Tuesday will mark Siegel’s 10th start of the season and the third for Groom.
ABOUT NORTH FLORIDA
The Ospreys will enter Tuesday with a 22-22 overall record and a 10-11 conference mark to currently sit in third place in the ASUN Graphite Division standings. UNF dropped two of three over the weekend at home to Stetson and has dropped three of its last four after also falling in extra innings at South Carolina last Tuesday. North Florida was picked to finish seventh in their conference in 2025 according to the ASUN Preseason Poll.
Cade Bush fronts UNF with a .333 batting average. Nick Monile is next with a .329 clip and he leads the way in hits with 52 and runs scored with 38. Connor Moore is tops in doubles with 15, extra-base hits with 20 and RBIs with 24. Groom leads the pitching staff with a 2.70 ERA, while Kaden Humphrey is tied for fifth nationally in saves with 10 and Bryson Treichel paces the team in strikeouts with 65 in 52.1 innings.
The Ospreys are led by head coach Joe Mercadante, who is in his second year at UNF.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Tuesday’s midweek will mark the 39th all-time meeting between the Knights and Ospreys. UCF will enter holding to a 22-16 advantage and a 12-8 edge with games played in Orlando. Despite UNF taking the previous season meeting, 6-5, earlier this month, UCF has won four of the last five. Tuesday’s game will mark the second and final season meeting between the two.
HITTING ON ALL CYLINDERS
As a team, the Knights currently hold the 12th-best team batting average in the nation as well as lead the Big 12 with a .318 average. UCF currently has nine players with 25 or more at-bats hitting above .300 and six batting over .325 in DeAmez Ross (.372), Edian Espinal (.350), Aris Rivera (.333), Andrew Williamson (.327), Lex Boedicker (.325) and Antonio Jimenez (.325).
THE HITMAN
One thing is for sure, when DeAmez Ross is up to bat, it is almost certain he is going to hit the ball. Ross, who leads the team with a .372 batting average, has recorded 68 hits this season, the most in the Big 12 and 22nd-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 20.
Ross’ play has made him a nightmare for pitchers. His 10.8 rate currently makes him the second hardest player to strike out in the Big 12.
SUNSHINE STATE SUCCESS
Under head coach Rich Wallace, the Black and Gold have had success against in-state opponents. Under Wallace, UCF is 22-8 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 8-4 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 came over Stetson, as UCF has shut out the Hatters twice on the season.
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.
SAUSER TABBED BIG 12 CO-PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Sauser was tabbed the Big 12 Co-Pitcher of the Week on April 21 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.
ON DECK
Following Tuesday, UCF will hit the road for a seven-game game road trip that will span over 11 days and three states. The Knights will open the trip this weekend with a conference series at Oklahoma State.
Another Tuesday Under the Lights 🔜 pic.twitter.com/Qhhl67c1nY
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) April 28, 2025