ORLANDO – The UCF offense blasted out a season-high three home runs while Wiley Hartley and three other Knight pitchers combined to allow just three hits en route to defeating Stetson 7-1 on Wednesday night at John Euliano Park.
Donning its brand-new Canaveral blue SpaceU uniforms in its first space game of the season, UCF (10-4) reeled off seven unanswered runs on its way to topping the Hatters (12-6). Jack Zyska, Matt Prevesk and Danny Neri all homered in the contest, while Hartley, Kyle Kramer, Najer Victor and Spencer Bauer combined to surrender just one run on three hits for the Knights.
“In baseball you are as good as your next starting pitcher, and Wiley Hartley went out there and controlled the game from pitch number one. He was in and out with the fastball, had strong command of his secondary pitches, and had a big pickoff for us to kind of get us going,” head UCF coach Rich Wallace said. “Overall, I’m pleased with our efforts and we’re hoping that this momentum will carry over into the weekend.”
Trailing 1-0 in the fourth, the Knights bounced back with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 2-1 lead. Andrew Brait singled and later scored on a passed ball to tie the game and Zyska immediately followed with a solo home run to left center to give UCF the 2-1 advantage. The homer marked Zyska’s 20th round tripper of his collegiate career.
The Knights then added two more in the fifth, as Lex Boedicker singled, and Prevesk belted out a two-run home run to right center with two away in the frame to make it 4-1. Prevesk’s big fly marked his second of the season.
After allowing a run in the fourth, Hartley settled down and pitched very well in his first collegiate start as he sat down seven straight Hatters until midway through the sixth inning. In all, Hartley (1-1) earned his first win in a Knight uniform by striking out a career-high six and walking none. He also surrendered just two hits and one run over a career-long 5.2 innings.
The UCF offense then added a run in the seventh on back-to-back two-out doubles from Boedicker and Andrew Sundean to extend the Black and Gold’s lead to 5-1. The Knights looked for more when Andrew Williamson drove a ball to deep left center with two runners aboard in the frame, but Stetson’s Logan Hughes made a great catch up against the wall to save a couple of runs.
The Knights then tacked on a pair of insurance run in the eighth, as Neri hit out his first home run in a UCF uniform to right field while Prevesk later scored on a Stetson error to make it 7-1.
Bauer then came on from the bullpen and retired the Hatters in the ninth to seal the victory.
Over the final 3.1 innings, Kramer, Victor, and Bauer combined to allow just one hit and two total base runners to reach as the Knight pitching staff was solid all evening.
Offensively, Zyska paced UCF by going 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored, while Prevesk finished 1-for-4 with two runs scored and two batted in and Neri went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Boedicker had two hits in the contest by going 2-for-5 with a double.
The Knights will now return to conference play as they will welcome Oklahoma State to town for their inaugural Big 12 series Friday to Sunday at John Euliano Park. All three games will air live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.