ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – With two months until Opening Knight, the UCF baseball team announced a series of schedule adjustments to the 2019 slate.
Every night game at John Euliano Park this spring will start at 6 p.m. The standard weekend series will have start times of 6 p.m. on Friday, 6 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. All game times and dates are subject to change.
The Knights also added a game against Bethune-Cookman on May 7 at John Euliano Park at 6 p.m.
The 2019 slate features 54 games, including 35 games at John Euliano Park. Check out below for the marquee matchups at home this season for the Knights. For more information about the 2019 schedule, click here.
Auburn, Feb. 22-24
After an Opening Weekend series against Siena, the Knights will square off with Auburn. The Tigers are coming off a 2018 season that saw them finish in all the final Top 25 polls after a NCAA Super Regional appearance against Florida. On the diamond, the Knights and the Tigers have faced off five times with the latter holding a 4-1 advantage. The last meeting came in the 2017 NCAA Tallahassee Regional, where Auburn came away with a 7-4 victory.
Penn State, March 8-10
UCF will face Penn State for the first time in program history. It will mark the first time the Knights will go up against an opponent from the Big Ten since 2016 when UCF fell to Michigan State, 6-2, at the Kleberg Bank Classic in Corpus Christi, Texas. Penn State will be the first Big Ten team to come to John Euliano Park since 2014 when Michigan came to Orlando for a midweek series. It will be the first weekend series against a Big Ten opponent in 20 years, when the Knights hosted Northwestern for three games in 1998.
UConn, March 29-31
The Knights will add to a budding rivalry against the Huskies that started back in 2013. During a frigid series in which the Black and Gold played through sub-freezing temperatures on the road, UCF managed to take the opening game against UConn before the hosts swept a Sunday doubleheader to win the series. The Huskies hold a 11-7 series advantage.
South Florida, April 5-7
The War On I-4 returns to John Euliano Park in early April for a series that will be crucial to The American standings. Last year, the Knights opened up the weekend series with a 1-0 win on Friday, but the Bulls rallied to take the final two games. The longest-running series in program history will reach 140 games played at the conclusion of the 2019 edition. UCF will look to trim South Florida’s narrow 71-66 all-time advantage.
Houston, May 16-18
The regular season concludes with a showdown against the Cougars at John Euliano Park. UCF went to Houston last season and took two of three from the conference leaders, but the Cougars edged the Black and Gold 6-2 in an elimination game at the 2018 American Athletic Conference Tournament. The Knights are 22-28 against the Cougars all time in a series that dates back to 1990. Since joining The American in 2014, Houston holds a one-game series lead at 9-8.