ORLANDO – The undefeated UCF baseball team will look to continue its winning ways when it welcomes South Florida to John Euliano Park for a three-game non-conference series.
The series will run Friday to Sunday, March 1-3. Friday and Saturday’s games are set for 6 p.m. while Sunday’s finale will take place at 1 p.m. Both Friday and Sunday’s contests will air live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ as well as 96.9 The Game. Live stats can be followed for all three games on the weekend by visiting ucf.statbroadcast.com.
Under first-year head coach Rich Wallace, the Knights are off to their best start to a season since 2017 at a perfect 6-0. A win on Friday would match UCF’s start in 2017, as the Knights opened with a 7-0 mark that year. So far this season, the Black and Gold have taken care of business against Bryant and Samford (series sweep) at home, as well as in-state road wins over Miami and Florida Atlantic.
During UCF’s last four games—a three-game home sweep over Samford last weekend and a midweek win at FAU the other night—it has scored an impressive tally of 50 runs. The Knights have also recorded 60 hits during the four-game stretch, which included a season-high 19 at FAU on Tuesday. With the stellar hitting, UCF now leads the nation with a .385 team batting average and is also receiving votes for the latest NCBWA Top 25 poll.
With FAU holding to an early 1-0 advantage in Boca Raton on Tuesday, the Black and Gold responded by reeling off 11 unanswered runs to go on to top the Owls by a score of 11-6. After tying the game with a run in the second inning, the Knights then posted a seven-spot in the third to take an 8-1 lead. Andrew Sudean had a two-run double that inning and Andrew Estrella capped the scoring that frame with his third home run over team’s past three games with a three-run homer to deep center. UCF then tacked on another run in the fourth and two more in the sixth thanks to a two-run single from Danny Neri.
Ten different Knights recorded hits in Tuesday’s victory. Andrew Estrella topped the group by going 3-for-5 with three RBIs. Lex Boedicker too had three hits by going 3-for-6 with two runs scored, while Andrew Sundean went 2-for-5 with three runs batted in. Matt Prevesk, Andrew Brait, Jack Zyska and Andrew Williamson all also added two hits apiece in the ballgame.
On the mound at FAU, the Black and Gold got a strong start from right-hander Cade Boxrucker. The senior transfer went 5.0 innings and gave up just one run on two hits while striking out six. After allowing just two baserunners to reach in the first, Boxrucker then retired the side in order in each of the next four innings as he didn’t allow a runner to reach base off of him the rest of his outing. With the stellar performance, Boxrucker earned his first win in a UCF uniform (1-0), while relievers Wiley Hartley, Spencer Bauer, Josh Fernald, and Nick Vieira all pitched well in relief to finish it off.
On the season, six different Knights are batting .400 or better. Two-time all-conference performer Sundean leads the way with an even .500 average. He also is tied for the team lead in extra-base hits with five and paces the team in doubles with four. He is also second in both RBIs (11) and runs scored (nine). Brait is next with a .478 batting average, while Estrella follows with a .450 clip and team-bests of three homers and 15 RBIs. AJ Nessler (.444), Prevesk (.423) and the freshman Williamson (.412) round out the list.
On the mound, senior Ben Vespi is tops in innings pitched with 9.0, while reliever Alex Galvan leads the way in wins (2-0) and strikeouts (nine), and Chase Centala paces the squad in saves with three. Four different Knight hurlers are yet to surrender an earned run in Centala, Najer Victor, Nick Nieira and Josh Fernald.
Scheduled Rotation for the Series
The senior RHP Vespi will get the ball for the Black and Gold on Friday. Vespi is off to a 1-0 start and a 4.00 ERA. He is also limiting opponents to a .229 average. Redshirt junior right-hander Tyler Nesbitt will then get the nod on Saturday (0-0, 7.71 ERA) and junior RHP Dom Stagliano will make his first start of the season on Sunday (0-0, 1.93 ERA). Right-hander Hunter Mink is scheduled to get the ball for USF on Friday (1-1, 2.70 ERA), while fellow RHP Jack Cebert will get the start for the Bulls on Saturday (1-1, 0.90 ERA). South Florida’s starter for Sunday is to-be-announced.
About South Florida
USF will enter the weekend with a 4-3 record on the young season. After falling to UConn and Indiana State on opening weekend, the Bulls responded by sweeping a four-game series from Marist—all via the run rule—at home over the weekend. In its most recent game on Tuesday, South Florida then dropped a 12-4 contest at Florida State. USF was picked to finish fifth in the American Athletic Conference this year after going 21-39 overall and 7-17 in league action last season.
John Montes leads the Bulls offensively with a .455 batting average and four extra-base hits. Rafael Betancourt is next with a .391 clip, eight runs scored and seven RBIs, while preseason all-conference selection Bobby Boser paces the team in the power numbers with two homers and eight runs batted in. Fellow preseason all-conference selection Cebert is USF’s top starting pitcher with a 1-1 record, 0.90 ERA and 11 strikeouts over 10.0 innings. Mink is right behind him with a 1-1 mark, 2.70 ERA and a team-best 12 strikeouts in 10.0 innings, while Dominick Madonna, Austin Grause, Fulton Lockhart and Austin Newton are yet to allow a run.
South Florida is coached by head coach Billy Mohl, who is in his seventh year at the helm of the Bulls.
All-Time Series History
UCF has faced USF more than any other team in program history as the two have previously met 162 times on the baseball diamond. The Bulls will enter play holding a slight 82-80 record, but the Knights hold a 43-27 advantage at home. The two met seven times a season ago and USF managed to go 4-3, which included a 15-4 victory at the 2023 AAC Tournament.
On Deck for UCF
The Black and Gold will next return to the road for an in-state clash with the fourth-ranked Florida Gators on Wednesday, March 6 at 6 p.m. in Gainesville. Following the contest, UCF will then travel to Norman, Oklahoma, for its first-ever Big 12 Conference series March 8-10 at Oklahoma.
Tops in the Nation
With the hot-hitting as of late, the UCF offense not only leads the Big 12 Conference but also all of NCAA Division I baseball with a .385 team batting average. Creighton will enter the weekend ranked second with a .376 average while Arkansas-Pine Bluff ranks third at .374. Texas A&M (.372) and Florida State (.368) round out the top five, while fellow Big 12 foe Texas Tech ranks is currently seventh (.367).
Homered in Three Straight
Junior infielder Andrew Estrella will enter Friday having homered three straight games, as he belted out grand slams in the last two games against Samford and followed that up with a three-run homer at Florida Atlantic on Tuesday. Not only has he homered in three straight games but also to each of three fields, as Saturday’s slam was to deep left, Sunday’s slam was to right and Tuesday’s three-run shot was to straightaway centerfield. During the three-game stretch, Estrella is 6-for-12 at the plate with a 12 RBIs.
Best Starts Under First-Year Head Coaches in Program History
With the 6-0 start this season, first-year head man Rich Wallace has his team off to one of the best starts under a new coach in program history. At 6-0, Wallace will enter the weekend just one win back of the record that is shared by former UCF coaches Doug Holmquist (1973) and Greg Lovelady (2017), as Holmquist and Lovelady both started with 7-0 records during their first season of coaching here in Orlando. Overall, UCF’s best unbeaten start to a season is 10-0, a mark that the 2015 team set under head coach Terry Rooney.