ORLANDO – Fresh off a weekend sweep over Samford, the undefeated UCF baseball team will head south to Boca Raton for a Tuesday midweek at Florida Atlantic.
The in-state matchup will take place at 6:30 p.m. at FAU Baseball Stadium. The contest will be streamed live on FAU TV (FAUSports.com/Watch) and live stats will also be available via ucf.statbroadcast.com.
The Knights will enter the week with a 5-0 record and newly receiving votes for the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Top 25 poll. After opening the season with a home win over Bryant, the Black and Gold then knocked off Miami in Coral Gables last Wednesday before returning home and sweeping Samford over the weekend.
In the series against Samford, UCF scored 39 total runs on its way to outscoring the Bulldogs 39-11. The Black and Gold also outhit Samford 41-15. Of the three victories, the Knights claimed two of them via the 10-run rule, as they opened the series with an 18-3 win in seven innings on Friday and capped it with a 12-2 walk-off run-rule win in seven innings on Sunday. UCF also defeated the Bulldogs by a score of 9-6 on Saturday.
Over the Samford series, junior catcher Andrew Sundean and junior second baseman Andrew Estrella both had stellar weekends offensively. Sundean paced the Knights with a .583 average (7-for-12). He also homered once, doubled twice, scored six runs, and added five RBIs. Estrella was right behind him with a .556 average (5-for-9). He also blasted out two grand slams in the series, five runs scored and an impressive tally of 12 RBIs. Estrella’s grand slams came in back-to-back days, marking the first time that a UCF player has achieved the rare feat in well-over 20 years.
Andrew Brait and Matt Prevesk also batted over .500 against Samford, as they each posted .545 averages. Mikey Kluska and freshman Andrew Williamson too had strong performances over the weekend versus the Bulldogs by both hitting .455.
The UCF staff also pitched well against Samford, as it struck out 24 and walked just four batters over 23.0 innings of work. In two of the three games, the Black and Gold staff held Samford to a combined tally of seven hits—three on Sunday and four on Friday.
Ben Vespi went 5.0 innings in the opener and surrendered just one run on three hits to earn his first victory of the season (1-0). Alex Galvan then recorded the win in relief after pitching strong down the stretch on Saturday while Chase Centala came on and tossed a three-up-three-down ninth inning to earn his third save. Southpaw Dominic Castellano then went 4.0 innings and struck out five while giving up just one run on two hits to record his first win on Sunday (1-0). Najer Victor and Nick Vieira added scoreless relief outings during the series.
On the season, the two-time all-conference performer Sundean leads the Black and Gold with a .524 average, four extra-base hits, eight RBIs and eight run scored. Brait is next with a .474 clip along with two extra-base hits, seven RBI and seven runs scored. Four other Knights are batting .400 or better on the young season. As a squad, the Black and Gold are currently leading the Big 12 Conference with a .377 batting average.
On the mound, Galvan is 2-0 and leads the way in strikeouts with nine, while Vespi is 1-0 and holds eight strikeouts. Centala is tied for the Big 12 lead in saves with three.
Scheduled Starting Pitchers for Tuesday
Senior right-hander Cade Boxrucker will get the nod for the second time for the Knights on the young season on Tuesday. Boxrucker, a transfer from Campbell, helped UCF knock off Miami last week as he went two-plus innings and struck out two and surrendered three runs on five hits. FAU will go with right-handed pitcher Braden Ostrander. Ostrander is 0-1 on the season with a 16.20 ERA in 1.2 innings of work.
About Florida Atlantic
The Owls will enter Tuesday with a 4-2 record after sweeping Towson at home over the weekend and taking one of three at No. 6 Vanderbilt in the opening series. Florida Atlantic went 34-25 a season ago and tied for fourth in its final season of competition in the Conference USA with a 16-14 league clip. FAU, who now calls the American Athletic Conference home, was picked to finish fourth in the AAC this year.
Brando Leroux leads the Owls offensively with a .417 average and 10 RBIs. Emilio Gonzalez is right behind him with a .389 clip along with four doubles and seven runs batted in. Tyler Murphy (1-0, 1.50 ERA) and Trey Beard (1-0, 3.12 ERA) have been FAU’s top starting pitchers, while Bryan Boully has been solid in relief (1-0, 0.00 ERA over 5.2 IP).
Tuesday’s contest will mark the first of two season meetings between the two foes, as FAU will head to Orlando on March 19.
All-Time Series History
Tuesday’s contest will mark the 89th all-time meeting between the Knights and Owls. UCF will enter play holding to a 47-41 advantage and a 19-17 mark in Boca Raton. FAU won both meetings a season ago, however, which included a 4-2 victory in the last meeting on March 28 at FAU Baseball Stadium.
On Deck for UCF
Following Tuesday’s ballgame, the Black and Gold will return to Orlando to welcome South Florida to John Euliano Park for a three-game non-conference series this weekend. The series will run Friday to Sunday. Friday and Saturday’s games are set for 6 p.m., while Sunday’s finale will begin at 1 p.m. After a midweek at No. 4 Florida on Tuesday, March 6, the Knights will then open Big 12 Conference play March 8-10 at Oklahoma.