ORLANDO – The 23rd-ranked Kansas Jayhawks took the lead in the middle innings and put the game away with a five-run ninth to take the opener over UCF 9-2.
With the Knights (18-11, 3-7 Big 12) holding to a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning, KU (25-6, 7-3 Big 12) tied it with a run in the fifth and took a 4-2 advantage with two runs in the sixth. The game remained tight until the ninth, but the Jayhawks scored five runs all with two outs to take game one.
“That was a really good ballgame up until the last inning,” head coach Rich Wallace said. “I thought that Cam Wicker looked good in his first start for us. He had three or four pitches in play, attacked, and pitched himself out of trouble in the first. We felt like we were in a good spot with his start, but we had some costly walks down the stretch and let it get away there in that ninth inning.”
Kansas struck first with a run in the top of the first inning to take a 1-0 advantage. The Jayhawks looked for more in the inning with two runners aboard and only one out, but UCF starter Camden Wicker drew a comebacker to the mound and started a 1-4-3 double play to end the threat.
The Knights responded with a pair of runs in the second to take a 2-1 lead. Andrew Williamson started things off with a double to right and Lex Boedicker brought him home with an RBI single up the middle. After a walk and a sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third, Dylan King brought in Boedicker with an RBI groundout.
Both starting pitchers settled down from there, as the game remained 2-1 into the fifth.
KU then tied things up with a two-out solo home run to left field from Brady Ballinger to make it 2-2. The Jayhawks added two more runs in the top of the sixth to take a 4-2 lead. With runners on second and third with one out in the inning, Tommy Barth picked up an RBI on a groundout to the right side and Dariel Osoria scored on a wild pitch a few pitches later to add to Kansas’ lead.
Russell Sandefer pitched well in relief for the Black and Gold over the next couple of innings as he didn’t surrender a run until his third inning of work. He gave up just one hit and two runs while striking out four over 3.0 innings to keep the deficit manageable.
With KU starter and the Preseason Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Dominic Voegele out of the game in the eighth inning, the UCF offense looked to get something going as Antonio Jimenez led off the frame with a single. Edian Espinal then drove a ball to deep right center but KU’s Barth made a fine play up against the wall for out number one. Williamson then followed by hitting a ball hard to left center but Kansas’ Brady Counsell ran it down in deep left field for the second out. Boedicker then looked to drop in a bloop single into shallow left, but the Jayhawks’ shortstop Sayer Smith made a diving catch for out number three.
With two men on and one away in the top of the ninth, Kansas added to its lead with a sacrifice fly. Derek Cerda then drove in a run with a two-out RBI single and Ballinger and Jackson Hauge hit back-to-back home runs to make it 9-2.
The Knights didn’t go away easily in the last of the ninth, as Kendrey Maduro doubled and Chase Krewson worked a walk. KU’s Thaniel Trumper then recorded a flyout and a game-ending double play to lock up the win for the Jayhawks.
In his first start in a UCF uniform, the right-hander Wicker had a nice outing in which he gave up just one run on two hits while striking out three. He retired the side in order in the third and allowed just one base runner in the fourth. The Black and Gold’s Angelo Smith then followed and was tagged with the loss to drop to 0-1 on the year. Voegele went 7.0 innings and gave up just two runs to earn the win for Kansas and move to 5-2 on the season.
Boedicker and Braden Calise led the way offensively for UCF on the evening by each recording two hits. Boedicker finished with a 2-for-4 performance with an RBI and a run scored. Ballinger paced the Jayhawks by going 3-for-5 with two home runs, three RBIs and two runs scored.
The Knights and Jayhawks will continue the series with game two on Saturday at 6 p.m. The third and final game of the series will then come on Sunday at 1 p.m. Following Sunday’s finale, UCF will head to Jacksonville to face North Florida for a midweek contest on Tuesday night.
🗣️ Four Innings… Only 1 Run Allowed for @camwick44 pic.twitter.com/5YbG5JaK1O
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) April 4, 2025