ORLANDO – Fresh off a road win at Miami on Wednesday night, the UCF baseball team returns home to host Samford for a three-game set at John Euliano Park.
The series will run Friday to Sunday, Feb. 23-25. Game times are set for 6 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday, while Sunday’s finale is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start. Live stats will be available for all three contests by visiting UCF.StatBroadcast.com.
The Knights will enter the weekend with a 2-0 record after winning their opener over Bryant last weekend and pulling out a 4-3 victory over in-state foe Miami on Wednesday in Coral Gables. UCF also had the final two games of its opening series over Bryant washed out due to inclement weather last week.
Down 3-1 in the fourth inning at Miami, the Black and Gold managed to load the bases thanks to a pair of infield singles and a walk. UCF then made it a one-run contest at 3-2 as Andrew Sundean scored from third on a wild pitch. With two outs and again with the bases loaded, Matt Prevesk delivered a go-ahead two-run single to left field to give the Knights a 4-3 lead.
From there, the UCF bullpen looked strong as it didn’t allow a run over the final six-plus innings to help preserve the victory for the Knights. Five pitchers combined to surrender just two hits and no runs during that stretch. Kyle Kramer recorded his first win of the season (1-0), while Dom Stagliano, Najer Victor and Alex Galvan all followed with solid outings during the middle and late innings. Chase Centala then came on with one out and the tying runner aboard in the ninth, and after giving up a single, managed to draw a game-ending 6-3 double play off the bat of Daniel Cuvet to seal the victory and record his second save.
Prevesk led the Knights offensively on Wednesday by going 2-for-5 with two runs batted in and a double. Sundean too tallied two hits by going 2-for-4, while Mikey Kluska, Danny Neri and AJ Nessler all collected a hit apiece and scored a run.
Two-time all-conference performer Sundean paces UCF on the young season with a .444 average, three RBIs, a double and two runs scored. Senior transfers Kluska and Neri are next by each holding .429 averages, while senior Andrew Brait is batting .375, and senior transfer Jack Zyska is hitting .329 with a homer and two RBIs. On the mound, junior right-hander Stagliano holds a perfect 0.00 ERA in 2.2 innings of work, while Galvan is 1-0 and tied for the team-lead in strikeouts with six. Centala also is yet to allow a run, as he holds a 0.00 ERA and two saves.
Starting Rotation for This Weekend
Senior RHP Ben Vespi will get the ball for the Knights on Friday night. Vespi went 4.0 innings in last Friday’s opener and struck out six while walking just one batter. Vespi was an all-conference performer in 2022. Junior transfer Tyler Nesbitt will make his first official start for the Knights on Saturday after having his first start wiped out due to rain last weekend. Nesbitt, who was tabbed a Freshman All-American in 2020, went 1-0 with a 2.96 ERA at Florida in 2023. Sunday’s starter for the Knights is to-be-announced. A trio of righties are scheduled to get the ball for Samford this weekend in Brookes Rice (1-0, 3.60 ERA), Michael Ross (1-0, 1.50 ERA) and Will Lynch (0-0, 6.75 ERA). The SoCon Preseason Pitcher of the Year Rice will start Friday, Ross Saturday, and Lynch Sunday.
About Samford
Samford is off to an unblemished 4-0 start after sweeping Queens at home last weekend by a combined 40-9 score and defeated Jacksonville State 7-3 on Tuesday. The Bulldogs were picked to win the SoCon this season after claiming both regular season and tournament titles in the league last year. Samford went 37-25 overall in 2023 and 15-6 in conference play. The Bulldogs capped their season by taking part in the NCAA Auburn Regional.
Senior infielder John Anderson leads the Bulldogs offensively on the season with a .583 average, two home runs and eight RBIs. Angelo Prieto is next with a .467 clip as well as two homers and seven runs batted in, while Garrett Howe too is batting .467. As a team, the Samford pitching staff will enter the weekend with a 2.61 ERA. Alex Flood, Jake Holifield, Carson Lore, Miller Riggins, and Evan Steckmesser are all yet to surrender a run for the Bulldogs, while the Preseason SoCon Pitcher of the Year Rice is 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA.
UCF and Samford were former conference mates in the ASUN Conference from 1999-2003.
All-Time History
Friday’s opener will mark the 26th all-time meeting between the Knights and Bulldogs. UCF holds a 20-5 overall record and an 11-5 advantage at home. The Knights claimed the last meeting, 11-1, on March 27, 2022 at John Euliano Park but Samford managed to take the series 2-1. From 1987 to 2002, the Black and Gold recorded 15 straight victories in the all-time series over the Bulldogs.
On Deck for UCF
Following the series, the Knights will again head south on I-95 to face FAU in midweek action on Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 6:30 p.m. UCF will then return home for a non-conference series against South Florida March 1-3 at John Euliano Park.