BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic (20-10) hit three home runs on Tuesday evening to down UCF Baseball (18-11) 5-3, snapping the Knights five game winning streak. Chase Centala was credited with the loss allowing three runs on two hits.
UCF opened the scoring in the first, as Ben McCabe singled to right field to score Noah Orlando. FAU responded with a solo home run in the bottom half, before the Knights regained the lead in the top of the second. Gephry Pena hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Tom Josten and give the Knights a 2-1 lead.
In the fifth, UCF extended the lead on a strikeout wild pitch, as Pablo Ruiz was able to beat the throw home as the catcher threw to first to complete the strikeout. FAU chipped away at the lead once again in the fifth, homering for the second time to cut it to 3-2. In the eighth FAU hit a two-run home run to take the lead and added a third to defeat UCF 5-3.
Zack Hunsicker allowed no hits and struck out two batters in his 1.2 innings of relief. Cameron Crain allowed two hits and struck out five before being lifted after 2.2 innings. UCF Baseball will now hit the road for the first conference road weekend of the year. The Knights will head to Memphis, Tennessee to take on the Tigers.
SCORING MOMENTS
TOP 1st | FAU 0 – UCF 1 | Ben McCabe singles to right field to score Noah Orlando.
BOTTOM 1st | FAU 1 – UCF 1 | FAU responds with a solo home run.
TOP 2nd | FAU 1 – UCF 2 | Gephry Pena hits a sacrifice fly to right field to score Tom Josten.
TOP 5th | FAU 1 – UCF 3 | Pablo Ruiz scored on a wild pitch.
BOTTOM 5th | FAU 2 – UCF 3 | FAU hits their second solo home run of the night.
BOTTOM 8th | FAU 5 – UCF 3 | FAU takes their first lead of the night.
GAME NOTES
- Noah Orlando was 2-for-2 with a run scored, a double, and two walks in Tuesday's game against FAU.
- Three Knights had extra base hits on Tuesday, Pablo Ruiz, Tom Josten and Noah Orlando all doubled.
- UCF pitchers struck out 11 Owls on Tuesday, with Cameron Crain leading the way with five.
UP NEXT
UCF Baseball will step back into conference play this weekend, traveling to Memphis for the second road series of the year. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. Eastern from Memphis, Tennessee.