ORLANDO – After playing eight of its last nine games at home, the UCF baseball team will venture out on the road to open a seven-game road trip with a league series at Oklahoma State this weekend.
The three-game series will run Friday to Sunday at O’Brate Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Friday and Saturday’s games are set for 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT starts while Sunday’s finale will begin at 1 p.m. ET/noon CT. All three games will air live on ESPN+ as well as on the radio on FM 96.9 The Game. Live stats can also be followed for each contest by visiting UCF.Statbroadcast.com.
UCF will enter the Oklahoma State series with a 24-20 overall record and a 6-15 conference clip to currently sit in a tie for 12th place in the league standings. After getting swept at home last weekend by first place and 10th-ranked West Virginia, the Black and Gold responded by defeating in-state foe North Florida in midweek action on Tuesday night.
The Knights got a trio of two-run doubles in the early innings of Tuesday’s game to jump out to an early 7-0 lead. Andrew Sundean started the scoring with a two-run double in the first. Edian Espinal then added a two-run double of his own in the third and Dylan King made it 7-0 in the fourth with a two-run double. UNF then picked up a trio of runs over the next couple of innings to pull within 7-3, but Andrew Williamson put the knights back on the board with an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth and Antonio Jimenez helped the Black and Gold put the game out of reach in the bottom of the eighth with a sac fly.
Grant Siegel started on the mound and went 4.1 innings. Seniors Wiley Hartley and Dom Stagliano then followed and combined to allow just one unearned run over the final 4.2 innings to record the victory. Hartley went 1.1 innings in his first relief outing of the year to move to 5-1 on the season while Stagliano went 3.1 innings to earn his second save. Stagliano allowed just three hits and no runs while striking out five on the night.
For the WVU series, West Virginia 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 last 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 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.
For the season, Ross leads UCF offensively with a .376 batting average, 70 hits, .478 on-base clip and 11 stolen bases. His 70 hits are good enough to lead the Big 12 Conference and rank him 16th nationally. Espinal is next with a .348 average, while Williamson is batting .323 and fronts the team in the power numbers with eight home runs, 15 doubles and 44 runs batted in. Matt Sauser paces the starting rotation with a 3-1 record and a 2.76 ERA, while Russell Sandefer is right behind him with a 2.86 ERA. Alex Galvan is one of the top arms from the bullpen, as he holds a 2.70 ERA and two saves. The southpaw Castellano is tied for the team-lead in victories with a 5-1 record and leads the way in strikeouts with 51 over 37.0 innings of work.
This weekend’s action will mark the first leg of a seven-game trip that will take the Knights to three states and span over 11 days with games at OSU, Missouri State and Texas Tech.
SCHEDULED STARTING PITCHERS FOR THE SERIES
A trio of sophomore right-handers will get the start on the mound for UCF this weekend. Camden Wicker will take the ball in game one for his fifth consecutive Friday night start (0-1, 4.50 ERA), while Russell Sandefer will get the ball in game two for the fourth straight week (2-2, 2.86 ERA) and Matt Sauser will start on Sunday for the third straight weekend (3-1, 2.76 ERA). Oklahoma State will go with lefty Harrison Bodendorf on Friday (7-1, 2.98 ERA), right-hander Mario Pesca on Saturday (3-2, 4.38 ERA) and Sean Youngerman on Sunday (2-1, 2.01 ERA).
ABOUT OKLAHOMA STATE
The Cowboys will enter the series with a 19-21 overall record and in 10th place in the conference standings with a 7-11 league mark. OSU has won three of its last five games after taking the finale against Cincinnati last weekend as well as the finale against Houston and a midweek over Dallas Baptist. The Pokes hold just one Big 12 series win on the year with a three-game sweep over Kansas State at home in early April. Oklahoma State was picked to win the Big 12 this season after going 42-19 and taking second in the regular season last year with a 19-9 league record and going on to win the Big 12 Tournament and host the NCAA Stillwater Regional in 2024.
Preseason All-Big 12 honoreer Colin Brueggemann leads OSU offensively with a .318 batting average. He also has 19 extra-base hits and 41 RBIs. Preseason All-Big 12 Player of the Year Nolan Schubart follows with a .308 average and team-leading tallies of 12 home runs, 42 RBIs and 39 runs scored. Southpaw Harrison Bodendorf leads Oklahoma State’s weekend rotation with a 7-1 record, 2.98 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 60.1 innings. Sean Youngerman is next with a 2-1 record, 2.01 ERA and four saves.
The Cowboys are coached by head coach Josh Holliday. Holliday is in his 13th season at the helm of the Pokes.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Friday’s opener will mark the 10th all-time meeting between the Knights and Cowboys. UCF will enter holding to a 6-3 series advantage. The two teams met up five times last year and UCF held the advantage by going 3-2. The Knights took two of three in Orlando last year and then split two games at the Big 12 Tournament. This weekend will mark UCF’s first trip to Stillwater.
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 nine players with 25 or more at-bats hitting above .300 and five batting over .325 in DeAmez Ross (.376), Edian Espinal (.348), Aris Rivera (.333), Andrew Sundean (.327) and Lex Boedicker (.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 .376 batting average, has recorded 70 hits this season, the most in the Big 12 and 16th-best nationally. He had an 18-game hitting streak recently, the longest by any UCF player this season. He also has the most multiple-hit games on the team with 21.
Ross’ play has made him a nightmare for pitchers. His 10.9 rate currently makes him the hardest player to strike out in the Big 12.
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 .320 on the season and had recently reached base safely in 24 straight games. He also has 60 putouts, 97 assists and a .969 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.
ON DECK
The Knights will continue the trip with a midweek game at Missouri State on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT. Following Tuesday’s midweek, UCF will head to Lubbock for a three-game league series at Texas Tech next weekend.
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