BETHUNE-COOKMAN – UCF MIDWEEK GAME
Date: Tuesday, May 16
Location: Orlando, Fla.
Site: John Euliano Park
Time: 6 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
The Knights return home after an eight-game road trip to conclude their regular season. In the final midweek, UCF hosts Bethune-Cookman in a Tuesday night rematch.
Previous Meeting
In the last matchup at Bethune-Cookman February 28, five Knights threw a combined one-hitter in the Knights' 9-0 shutout. Najer Victor got the start and Dominic Castellano earned with the win, as the duo combined with Kyle Kramer, Zach Chappell and Zack Austin for 14 strikeouts. In the game, Andrew Sundean made his 2023 debut, going 3-5 with a run and an RBI, while Drew Faurot and Ben McCabe also notched multi-hit games. McCabe and Andrew Brait each drove in a pair of the Knights' nine runs.
Scouting the Wildcats
Bethune-Cookman has a 27-23 overall record and a SWAC record of 18-8. In their last 10 games, the Wildcats have won six, sweeping Alabama A&M and taking a series win over Florida A&M.
The Wildcats' offense is hitting at the .293 mark, led by outfielder Hylan Hall and infielders Luis Tuero and Robert Moya, who all have batting averages above .333. Hall has found the most success among Wildcats at the plate, spearheading the offense with his .376 average and .452 on base percentage. He leads the team with 68 hits, six triples and six stolen bases.
Wildcats' pitchers have a combined 5.99 ERA. The bullpen effort is led by Joan Gonzalez, who leads the team with 17 appearances, throwing 41.1 innings of relief and posting a 3.70 ERA with 55 strikeouts. The Wildcats have a .969 fielding percentage.
Scouting the Knights
The Knights enter the final week of regular season play with a 29-23 record, 10-11 in American Athletic Conference play.
As a team, UCF has a combined .285 batting average, spearheaded by McCabe's mark of .362. Veteran McCabe continues to impress in his final campaign with the Knights, posting 57 runs, 72 hits, 18 home runs, 138 total bases, .693 slugging percentage and 18 hit by pitch, leading the team in each category.
Knights' pitching staff have a 5.56 ERA as a team. Najer Victor has been lethal out of the bullpen for the Knights, with a 2.12 ERA in 29.2 innings, he has allowed seven earned runs while striking out 44. Defensively, the Knights have a .968 fielding percentage.
Making History
The month of May has seen some historic milestones for the UCF baseball team. In the May 2 victory over North Florida, the Knights belted eight home runs to break both the program's single-season record, previously 78, and the single-game record, previously seven. In the game, Lex Boedicker's three home runs also tied the individual single-game record.
The following week, Nick Romano added the Knights' 90th home run of the season with a ninth-inning two-out bomb against Wright State to break the American Athletic Conference single-season home run record, previously set at 89 by Tulane in 2019.
After an eight-homer weekend at Cincinnati, the Knights have now set the AAC and UCF records at 98.
Up Next
The Knights will close out their regular season schedule at home May 18-20, hosting Wichita State for a three-game weekend series, playing ay 6 p.m. Thursday, 6 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday. At the final home game Saturday, UCF will celebrate Senior Knight to honor the contributions of its seniors.
