Baseball Falls in Series Opener at South FloridaBaseball Falls in Series Opener at South Florida

Baseball Falls in Series Opener at South Florida

by James Warnick
Box Score

TAMPA, Fla. – The UCF baseball team couldn’t overcome an early deficit as it dropped the first game of a weekend series, 13-3, at rival South Florida on Friday night at USF Baseball Stadium in Tampa.

The Knights (6-3) will look to even the series on Saturday, as game two of the three-game set will get underway at 2 p.m. and be broadcast live on ESPN+.

After USF (6-3) put up a pair of runs in the first inning to jump out to a 2-0 advantage, UCF starter Dom Stagliano responded by retiring the side in order in the second which included back-to-back strikeouts to end the frame.

The Bulls’ offense struck back with five more runs in the third, however, to extend their lead to 7-0. Sebastian Greico delivered the big hit of the inning with a three-run homer to right field.

Following a one-out hit from Matt Prevesk in the fifth, Antonio Jimenez put the Black and Gold on the board by belting out a two-run home run to deep left-center to make it 7-2 contest. The round tripper marked Jimenez’s second of the season.

Reliever James Lordi returned on the mound for his second inning of work in the bottom of the fifth and continued to pitch well for the Knights, as he retired five straight batters during a stretch over two scoreless innings.

USF later added a run in the last of the sixth and looked for more by loading the bases with one away, but Drew Bellis came on and induced an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play to keep it an 8-2 score.

Andrew Williamson drove in a run for the Knights in the top of the seventh with a two-out RBI double to right to make it 8-3. The extra-base hit brough home Jimenez who had walked earlier in the inning.

South Florida took advantage of a UCF defensive miscue in the bottom of the seventh en route to putting up five more runs to seal the victory via the run rule.

USF starting pitcher Corey Braun moved to 2-0 on the year after striking out nine while allowing just three runs on four hits over 6.1 innings. Stagliano was tagged with his first loss of the season for UCF to drop to 0-1. The southpaw reliever Lordi led a group of seven Black and Gold pitchers on the evening by giving up just one hit and no runs while fanning a season-high three batters over 2.0 innings.

Jimenez led the Knights at the plate by going 1-for-2 with a homer, a walk, two runs scored and two runs batted in. Williamson was next by going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Greico paced the Bulls by going 3-for-4 with home run and six RBIs.

The Knights and Bulls will continue the weekend series on Saturday at 2 p.m. at USF Baseball Stadium. The series will then close on Sunday at 1 p.m.