TULANE – UCF WEEKEND SERIES
Date: Friday-Sunday, May 5-7
Location: New Orleans, La.
Site: Greer Field at Turchin Stadium
Time: 7 p.m. (CDT) (Fri.) | 6 p.m. (CDT) (Sat.) | 1 p.m. (CDT) (Sun.)
Watch – ESPN+: Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Listen: FM 96.9 The Game
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Kicking off the week-long road trip, the UCF baseball team (25-19, 6-9 AAC) travels to New Orleans, La. to continue American Athletic Conference play against the Tulane Green Wave (13-32, 6-9 AAC) Friday-Sunday, May 5-7 at Turchin Stadium.
Making History
In the Knights' 16-10 victory over North Florida Tuesday night, the offense combined for eight home runs, setting two program records and tying another. Lex Boedicker (3), John Rhys Plumlee (2), Ben McCabe, Andrew Sundean and Cole Russo combined for eight home runs, breaking the single-game home run record of seven, eclipsing the previous mark of seven achieved most recently on opening night against Siena.
The eight home runs brought Knights' season total to 83, propelling the team past UCF's program record for home runs in a season, previously set at 78 in 2010.
Boedicker's three-homer night tied the single-game program record for home runs, becoming the second Knight to meet this mark in 2023, following McCabe's opening night performance.
Head-to-Head
In a close series, the Knights trail the Green Wave 28-29 all-time, stretching back to the first meeting between the teams in 1989.
Conference foe in both Conference USA and The American, conference play against Tulane dates back to 2006. UCF owns the C-USA record against the Green Wave, 14-13, and Tulane currently leads the ongoing AAC series 14-13.
Most recently, the Green Wave traveled to Orlando, Fla. for a three-game weekend series last season in which the Knights were victorious, taking wins in both the series opener, 2-1, and the finale, 8-6. All three games were decided by two or fewer runs.
Scouting the Knights
As a team, UCF owns a .290 batting average, spearheaded by McCabe's .379 average and Sundean's mark of .371. McCabe leads the Knights' offense with 50 runs, 64 hits, 15 home runs, 119 total bases, .704 slugging percentage, 14 hit by pitch and .462 on base percentage, leading the team in each category. Sundean has a team-leading 42 RBI and has the fewest strikeouts among Knights with over 60 at bats with only 21 strikeouts in 143 at bats.
Knights' pitching staff has a combined 5.58 ERA. Ruddy Gomez, UCF's Friday starter, leads the charge on the mound with a 4.97 ERA and 68 strikeouts through 63.1 innings of work. Defensively, the Knights have a .966 fielding percentage.
Scouting the Green Wave
Tulane is hitting at the .250 mark, led by junior Brady Hebert's .331 average. He also leads the team in doubles (13) and triples (3) and is tied for a team-high 26 walks,
Tulane's pitchers have combined for a 6.73 ERA, with junior Dylan Carmouche's 4.50 ERA leading the Green Wave. Michael Fowler leads the team in appearances with 24 out of the bullpen, striking out 41 in his 22.1 innings of work, while allowing 16 runs and 17 walks. Tulane has a .969 fielding percentage.
Up Next
The Knights are set to continue the road trip, traveling to Ohio for back-to-back midweek matchups against Ohio State 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 9 and Wright State 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 10 before heading to Cincinnati to wrap up the Knights' away schedule in the AAC.