ORLANDO – The UCF baseball team will open a five-game homestand on Wednesday when it welcomes Stetson to John Euliano Park.
The midweek contest will begin at 6 p.m. and will mark Citronaut Wednesday, as the team will unveil new Space-themed uniforms for the 2024 campaign. Wednesday’s ballgame will air live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and live stats can be followed via ucf.statbroadcast.com.
The Knights will enter Wednesday with a 9-4 overall record and an 0-3 start to Big 12 Conference play after dropping a trio of contests in their opening Big 12 series at Oklahoma over the weekend. The Black and Gold fell in the three games by scores of 4-3, 11-3 and 14-2. Prior to the action at OU, UCF knocked off No. 4 Florida in Gainesville by a score of 9-6 last Wednesday for its fifth straight win over the Gators. The Knights are currently receiving votes on the most recent NCBWA top 25 weekly poll.
UCF had its best chance to win in the opener in its inaugural Big 12 series at Oklahoma. In a tightly contested contest, the Knights took a 3-2 lead in the seventh as Matt Prevesk drove in Andrew Estrella with an RBI single. The Sooners countered back, however, with a sac fly in the last of the seventh to tie it and scored the go-ahead run in the eighth as a run came home from third on a Black and Gold throwing error.
Senior Matt Cedarburg led the Knights in the opener at OU by going 3-for-4 with a home run while Jack Zyska went 2-for-3 and Prevesk 2-for-5. The Knights got a strong start on the mound in the contest from Ben Vespi as he allowed just one earned run while striking out five over 5.1 innings.
In the night cap of a Saturday doubleheader, Oklahoma jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, but UCF struck back with two runs in the third thanks to RBIs from Zyska and Danny Neri to make it 4-2. The Sooners then added to their lead from there by scoring a run in every inning the rest of the way to take the contest by a score of 11-3.
Lex Boedicker paced the Knights in the game by going 2-for-4 with a walk while Andrew Sundean went 1-for-2 with his second home run of the year.
In Sunday’s finale, freshman Andrew Williamson hit out his second home run of the week with a solo homer to right in the fifth inning and Prevesk later plated a run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh. But the UCF offense couldn’t overcome a slow start as OU went on to cap the weekend with a 14-2 victory that included a trio of three-run home runs.
Cedarburg led the Black and Gold offensively in the OU series by hitting .500 with a home run and an RBI. Zyska was next by batting .364 with two doubles and an RBI, while Boedicker doubled twice and Prevesk drove in two runs. On the mound, Kyle Kramer, Wiley Hartley, and Alex Galvan all didn’t allow an earned run in relief work.
On the season, junior outfielder Prevesk leads the Knights with a .377 average. He also has four doubles, a homer, 10 RBIs and nine runs scored. Zyska is next with a .319 average, four extra-base hits and 11 runs scored, while Estrella fronts the team in the power numbers with four homers, five doubles and 18 RBIs. Vespi paces the starting rotation with a 1-0 record, 3.26 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 19.1 innings. Dominic Castellano fronts the bullpen with a 2-0 clip, 2.31 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 11.2 innings, while Chase Centala leads team and ranks fifth nationally in saves with four.
Knights 5-1 vs. Sunshine State Foes
UCF is off to a 5-1 start against in-state foes in 2024 thanks to road wins over No. 4 Florida, Miami, Florida Atlantic and taking two of three from rival South Florida at home. As a whole, UCF is scheduled to face 16 Sunshine State opponents in 2024. The Knights are also off to a perfect 3-0 start in midweek contests this year.
Scheduled Starting Pitchers for Wednesday
Right-hander Wiley Hartley will make his first start in a UCF uniform on Wednesday. Hartley is off to an 0-1 start, a 5.79 ERA and has struck out six over 4.2 innings of work on the season. He is a transfer from Campbell where he played both football (quarterback) and baseball (RHP) for the Camels. Fellow RHP John Modugno will get the start for Stetson. Wednesday too will mark Modugno’s first start of the year, as he’ll enter with a 0-0 record and a 2.70 ERA over 3.1 innings of work.
About Stetson
The Hatters will enter Wednesday with a 12-5 overall record and also hold a win over No. 4 Florida on the season. Stetson has won six of its last seven games and most recently swept a four-game series from Bradley in DeLand over the weekend. The Hatters opened the season by splitting four games against Big 12 foe West Virginia. Wednesday will mark just Stetson’s second road game of the season. The Hatters were picked to finish fourth in the ASUN this season after tying for second last year with a 20-10 league mark (35-23 overall).
Gio Cueto leads Stetson on the year with a .351 batting average, seven doubles, one homer, one triple and 19 RBIs. Yohann Dessureault is next with a .345 clip and team-best six homers. He also has 17 runs batted in and 16 runs scored. Daniel Paret leads the starting rotation with a 3-0 record, 1.99 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 22.2 innings. Zane Coppersmith paces the pen with a 1-0 mark, 1.23 ERA and 11 punchouts in 7.1 innings.
Stetson is led by head man Steve Trimper who is in his eighth season at the helm in DeLand.
All-Time Series vs. Stetson
UCF has played Stetson the second-most of any opponent, as Wednesday will mark the 129th all-time meeting between the Knights and Hatters. The Black and Gold will enter play with a 77-51 all-time advantage and having won each of the last three meetings. The Knights also hold a 37-22 record with games played in Orlando. Wednesday will mark the first of two season meetings between the Knights and Hatters, as UCF will return the favor and head to DeLand on Wednesday, April 10.
On Deck
The Knights will next welcome Oklahoma State to town for their inaugural home Big 12 Conference series. The series will run Friday to Sunday, March 15-17, and is set to begin at 6 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday as well as Sunday at 1 p.m. All three games will air live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. The Black and Gold will then cap the five-game homestand by welcoming Florida Atlantic to John Euliano Park on Tuesday, March 19.