ORLANDO – Fresh off a series win over South Florida, the UCF baseball team will open a busy week away from home with a midweek battle at No. 4 Florida on Wednesday night.
The in-state contest will begin at 6 p.m. at UF’s Condron Family Ballpark. It will air live on SEC Network+ and live audio will also be available via UCFKnights.com.
The Black and Gold will enter the ballgame with an 8-1 overall record and currently receiving votes for the latest top 25 poll. UCF opened the season with a 7-0 record to mark its best start to a season since 2017. The Knights hold wins over Bryant and Samford (three), as well as in-state foes Miami, Florida Atlantic and South Florida (two).
Last weekend against USF, UCF took two of three by pulling out a 3-2 extra-inning walk-off victory on Friday and capping the weekend with a 1-0 shutout in the series finale on Sunday. With the Black and Gold trailing by a run in the eighth on Friday, Lex Boedicker singled, stole second, advanced to third on a ground ball to the right side from Andrew Sundean and scored on a sac fly from Jack Zyska to tie the game at 2-2 heading into the ninth.
After a scoreless ninth inning, Chase Centala then retired the Bulls in order in the top of the 10th to give the Knights a chance in the bottom of the frame. Andrew Brait then led off the last of the 10th by drawing a base on balls and he quickly moved into scoring position on a balk. Boedicker then walked it off with an RBI single through the left side to plate Brait and give the Black and Gold the 3-2 victory.
After dropping Saturday’s game 7-5 for the team’s first loss of the season, three Knight pitchers combined for a two-hit shutout in Sunday’s finale to take the series over the Bulls. Kyle Kramer earned his second win of the season after tossing an inning and two thirds of solid relief while Chase Centala recorded his fourth save by not surrendering a hit or a run over the final 2.2 innings. Dom Stagliano started and gave up just one hit while striking out five over 4.2 innings as the trio limited USF to just two hits en route to recording UCF’s first shutout of the season.
Offensively, the Black and Gold scored the lone run of the game in the second inning as Andrew Estrella continued his strong hitting as of late with an RBI double. With Sundean leading from first and two away in the frame, Estrella pulled a ball down the leftfield line that Sundean managed to score all the way from first for what proved to be the winning run.
Matt Prevesk led UCF at the plate in the South Florida series by going 5-for-11 (.455) with a home run and three RBIs. Boedicker was next by batting .429 with an RBI and a run scored while Estrella capped off a stretch in which he homered in four straight games in Friday’s opener by hitting .364 for the series with a homer, three doubles and three RBIs. On the mound, closer Centala was dominant by not allowing a hit or a run over 4.2 innings of work. He tossed a scoreless ninth and 10th to record his first win of the season on Friday and followed that up with an impressive 2.2-inning save on Sunday. Over the two appearances, Centala struck out five and did not give up a hit or a run over 4.2 innings of work.
On the season, the Florida transfer Prevesk leads the Black and Gold with a .432 average. Estrella is next with a .419 average and paces the squad in doubles (5), homers (4), RBIs (18) and is tied for the team lead in runs scored with 10. The two-time all-conference performer Sundean is behind him with a .371 average, five extra-base hits and 12 RBIs. The junior right-hander Stagliano leads the Black and Gold with a 0.96 ERA and 13 strikeouts, while fellow starter Ben Vespi is 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA. The closer Centala is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and currently ranks second in the nation in saves with four.
Scheduled Starting Pitchers for Wednesday
Senior right-handed pitcher Cade Boxrucker is scheduled to get the ball for his third midweek start of the season for the Knights on Wednesday. Boxrucker is off to a 1-0 start with a 5.14 ERA and eight strikeouts in 7.0 innings of action on the young season. Fellow right-hander Luke McNeillie (1-0, 15.19 ERA) is scheduled to make his second start of the year for Florida on Wednesday.
About Florida
The Gators are 8-3 on the season and will enter Wednesday ranked fourth nationally in the latest D1Baseball poll. After dropping its opener to St. John’s, UF responded by winning eight of its next 10 games. Florida holds wins on the season over Columbia (three), North Florida (two), Bethune-Cookman and most recently took two of three from Miami in Coral Gables over the weekend. The Gators were picked to win the SEC Eastern Division this season after going 54-17 overall and finishing as the nation’s runner-up at the 2023 Men’s College World Series.
Perfect Game Co-National Player of the Week Jac Caglianone paces the Gators with a .478 average. He also has four homers and 13 RBIs and was named the SEC Pitcher of the Week this week after tossing six strong innings with 11 strikeouts in a series-clinching win over Miami on Sunday. Tyler Shelnut is next offensively with a .333 average, eight extra-base hits and a team-best 15 RBIs, while Colby Shelton is hitting .325 and leads the way in homers with five. Liam Peterson is 1-1 on the mound for the Gators with a team-high 20 strikeouts and a 3.75 ERA while Caglianone is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA and 18 punch outs.
Florida is coached by Kevin Sullivan who is in his 17th year at the helm. He has led the Gators to eight College World Series appearances, which includes the 2017 National Championship.
All-Time Series
Wednesday’s ballgame will mark the 49th all-time meeting between the Knights and Gators but the first meeting since 2019. UF will enter play holding to a 27-21 advantage and a 17-12 lead in Gainesville. UCF has won four straight contests, however, which includes two consecutive in Gainesville. The Black and Gold defeated Florida 12-9 in 2019 and 4-2 in 2018.
On Deck
The Knights will now head to Norman, Oklahoma, to open their inaugural Big 12 Conference season at Oklahoma. The three-game league series will run Friday to Sunday at L. Dale Mitchell Park. All three games will be streamed live on SoonerVision on ESPN+. After a midweek against Stetson on March 13, UCF will then welcome Oklahoma State to town March 15-17 for its first home Big 12 series.
4-1 vs. Sunshine State Foes
UCF is off to a 4-1 start against in-state foes in 2024 thanks to midweek wins at Miami and Florida Atlantic as well as taking two of three from South Florida at home last weekend. In all, UCF is scheduled to face 16 Sunshine State opponents in 2024, which includes the one at Florida this week and another against Stetson next week. A season ago, UCF went 11-7 vs. in-state foes, which included a pair of wins over No. 21 Florida State.