LAWRENCE, Kan. – UCF baseball found itself on the wrong end of a 13-3 contest in the series opener at Kansas on a cold and windy evening on Friday night at Hoglund Ballpark.
The Jawhawks scored 13 runs on 15 hits to improve to 12-8 overall and 4-3 in Big 12 play. The Knights drop to 13-6 overall and 2-5 in league play with the setback.
Trailing 1-0 in the top of the second, Andrew Williamson led off the frame by beating out an infield single and Danny Neri followed by driving out a two-run home run to right centerfield to give the Knights an early 2-1 lead. The homer marked Neri’s third of the season and the 10th consecutive game that UCF has homered in.
Kansas struck back with four runs in the bottom of the third to take a 5-2 lead. Collier Cranford had a two-run double in the frame for the Jayhawks while Michael Brooks added an RBI triple.
KU then added a run in the fourth, but Black and Gold reliever Spencer Bauer responded by striking out the next three batters he faced to limit the damage and keep it a 6-2 ballgame.
The Jayhawks then tacked on a run in the sixth and six more in the seventh to take a 13-2 advantage.
In the top of the ninth, Lex Boedicker and Dylan King both singled for the Knights. With one away, senior catcher Keano Suarez drove Boedicker home with a pinch-hit RBI single up the middle to make it 13-3. The hit marked both Suarez’s first hit and RBI of the season.
Matt Prevesk led UCF offensively in the contest by going 2-for-4 with a double. Neri finished 1-for-3 with the two-run homer and Suarez went 1-for-1 off the bench with the ninth-inning RBI. Cranford had a big night for KU at the plate by going 4-for-5 with a grand slam, seven RBIs, and two runs scored. He also hit for the cycle in the contest with an RBI single in the first, two-run double in the third, a triple in the sixth, and a grand slam in the seventh.
Kansas starter Reese Dutton improved to 5-1 on the year after allowing just two runs on six hits while striking out two over 7.0 innings. UCF starter Ben Vespi was tagged with the loss to fall to 2-1 on the season. In all, seven pitchers appeared in the contest for the Black and Gold and Tyler Nesbitt and Kris Sosnowski led the way by each tossing scoreless relief outings.
Friday's opener marked just the third all-time meeting between UCF and Kansas. Despite dropping Friday's opener, the the Black and Gold still lead the all-time series at 2-1 with wins in neutral-site action in 1998 and 1993.
With inclement weather expected on Sunday, the Knights and Jayhawks will now play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT. The night cap of the twin bill will then follow approximately 45 minutes after the conclusion of Saturday’s first game.