ORLANDO – Fresh off a road conference series victory at Kansas over the weekend, the UCF baseball team will cap a four-game stretch away from home on Tuesday night at Jacksonville.
The midweek contest will begin at 6 p.m. at JU’s John Sessions Stadium in Jacksonville. Live video and live stats will be available for the ballgame by visiting JUDolphins.com.
The Knights will enter the week with a 15-6 overall record and a 4-5 Big 12 Conference clip after winning their second straight Big 12 series this past weekend at Kansas. After dropping the opener, 13-3, the Black and Gold responded by winning both ends of a Saturday doubleheader in 40-degree temperatures by scores of 6-2 and 4-1. UCF enters the week with the nation’s sixth-best RPI and receiving votes for the top 25 on both the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches and NCBWA polls.
In Friday’s opener at KU, Danny Neri hit out a two-run homer in the second inning to give the Black and Gold an early 2-1 lead. The Jayhawks then struck back with four in the third and put the game away with six in the seventh to take the opener 13-3.
Matt Prevesk led UCF in Friday’s opener by going 2-for-4 while Neri went 1-for-3 with a home run. Keano Suarez added a pinch-hit RBI single for the Knights off the bench in the ninth.
In Saturday’s doubleheader sweep at KU, Braden Calise went a perfect 6-for-6 on the day and reached base all eight times while Andrew Sundean drove in five runs to help the Black and Gold claim both contests. The Knights’ bullpen was also huge on the day, as a trio of hurlers threw 8.0 innings of shutout relief on the day. Kyle Kramer, Chase Centala, and Dominic Castellano combined to allow just two hits and no runs while striking out seven over 8.0 impressive innings of action.
With Saturday’s first game of the twin bill all knotted up at 2-2, Calise led off the seventh with a hustle double. He then moved to third on a wild pitch and Prevesk drove him home with an RBI single. Calise then drove in an insurance run in the eighth with a two-out RBI single and the Knights tacked on two more in the ninth thanks to a two-run single from Sundean.
Dom Stagliano started on the mound and gave up just two runs on five hits while striking out two over 4.0 innings. Kramer then followed with 2.2 strong innings of scoreless relief to earn the win, while Centala recorded his fifth save of the season after tossing the final 2.1 innings of scoreless action.
In the nightcap of the doubleheader, Wiley Hartley went a career-long 6.0 innings and surrendered just four hits and one run in his first career weekend start. The right-hander also struck out two to improve to 2-1 on the year. Castellano then came on and earned a three-inning save by throwing 3.0 perfect innings of relief in which he retired all nine batters he faced while fanning three over his strong outing.
With the second game of the twin bill tied at 1-1 in the fifth, Calise singled and quickly stole second to get into scoring position. Mikey Kluska then drove him in with a one-out RBI single to give the Knights a 2-1 lead. The Black and Gold then tacked on two insurance runs in the seventh, as Jack Zyska and Sundean each recorded RBI singles in the frame.
For the series, Calise hit .600 with two doubles, four runs scored, one RBI and two stolen bases. Prevesk and Zyska were next by each hitting .308 for the weekend, while Sundean batted .300 with five runs batted in. Hartley and Kramer each picked up wins against KU on the mound, while Castellano, Kramer, Centala, Tyler Nesbitt and Kris Sosnowski all tossed scoreless outings.
Junior outfielder Prevesk paces UCF with a .360 average. He also has seven extra-base hits, 17 RBIs and 16 runs scored. Zyska is next with a .324 clip, eight extra-base knocks, 14 RBIs and a team-best 20 runs scored. Two-time all-conference performer Sundean leads the way in RBIs (25) and doubles (6), and is second on the squad in homers (4) and third in batting (.316). Dom Stagliano leads the starting rotation with a 3.63 ERA, while fellow starter Ben Vespi is 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA and a team-best 23 strikeouts in 28.0 innings of work.
Scheduled Starting Pitchers for Tuesday
Senior right-hander Cade Boxrucker will get the ball for UCF on Tuesday. It will mark Boxrucker’s fifth start of the season and his fourth midweek start. He holds a 1-1 record and a 10.03 ERA. Fellow righty Blake Barquin will start for JU. Barquin is 0-1 on the year with a 10.62 ERA.
Knights 7-1 vs. Sunshine State Foes
UCF is off to a 7-1 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 well as midweek victories over Stetson and FAU. In all, UCF is scheduled to face 16 Sunshine State opponents in 2024. The Knights will also enter Tuesday with a perfect 5-0 mark in midweek contests on the season.
About Jacksonville
The Dolphins are 11-12 overall and a 5-1 in ASUN action. JU has won six straight games after taking the final two games against Stetson, as well as going a perfect 4-0 last week by knocking off No. 6 Florida in Gainesville and sweeping Bellarmine in Louisville over the weekend. Jacksonville was picked to finish third in the ASUN this year after taking fifth a season ago with a 34-24 overall record and a 17-13 conference clip.
The reigning ASUN Player of the Week Justin Nadeau leads JU with a .416 battings average, six doubles, 24 runs scored and 20 RBIs. Josh Steidl is next with a .304 clip and paces the team in home runs (6) and RBIs (26). Peyton Prescott is the team’s top starting pitcher with a 3-1 record and a 5.53 ERA. Evan Chrest leads the way in strikeouts with 31 in 25.0 innings of work, while Isaac Williams is the top relief pitcher with 2-0 record, four saves, and a 1.74 ERA.
Jacksonville is coached by Chris Hayes. Hayes is in his eighth season at the helm of the Dolphins. Both Rich Wallace (2018-2019) and Morgan DePew (2019-2020) previously spent two seasons on Hayes’ staff at JU.
All-Time Series
Tuesday’s contest will mark the 93rd all-time meeting between UCF and JU. The Knights will enter play holding to a 50-42 all-time advantage and a 23-22 lead with games played in Jacksonville. The Dolphins won the last contest, however, by a score of 9-2 on April 19, 2022, and have claimed two of the last three meetings.
On Deck
With Easter Sunday this week, the Knights will welcome Texas Tech to town for a Big 12 Conference series Thursday to Saturday, March 28-30. Thursday and Friday’s games are scheduled for 6 p.m., while Saturday’s finale is slated for a 1 p.m. start. All three contests will air live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.