Baseball Shuts Out Stetson, 3-0Baseball Shuts Out Stetson, 3-0

Baseball Shuts Out Stetson, 3-0

by James Warnick
Box Score

DELAND, Fla. – Grant Siegel tossed five scoreless innings and Edian Espinal added a two-run single in the seventh to lead UCF baseball to a 3-0 shutout victory over in-state foe Stetson on Tuesday night at Melching Field.

The win marked the Black and Gold’s 10th in their last 11 games and upped UCF’s season record to 16-4. The Hatters dropped to 11-11 overall with the setback.

“Stetson is a well-coached team, and I thought it was a great game on both sides. They pitched and defended at a high level, and we were able to create just enough to get us a little bit of an edge there,” head UCF head Rich Wallace said. “Grant really commanded the ball after the first inning and attacked the zone. When he’s at his best, that’s what it looks like.”  

Stetson threatened in the first by loading the bases with two away, but UCF starting pitcher Siegel responded with an inning-ending strikeout to strand a trio of baserunners. He settled down from there, as he retired the Hatters in order in the each of the second, third, fourth and fifth frames.

The Black and Gold offense broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fifth inning to take a 1-0 lead. Kendrey Maduro singled and Dylan King followed with a hustle double on a hit and run to put a pair of runners in scoring position. Chase Krewson then drove in Maduro home from third with a one-out groundout to the right side of the infield.

With Siegel having exited after retiring 13 straight batters through 5.0 solid innings of work, the Knight offense added a pair of runs to extend its lead in the top of seventh. Following back-to-back one-out singles from Antonio Jimenez and Krewson, Espinal—the nation’s hottest hitter—delivered a two-out two-run single through the right side of the infield to make it 3-0 UCF. Espinal’s run-producing hit was clocked a 110 MPH off the bat.

Black and Gold reliever Kevin Schoneboom pitched a scoreless sixth inning and Russell Sandefer followed by finishing off the shutout by not allowing a run over the final three innings. After threatening a bit in the sixth inning, the Hatters got a one-out hit in the last of the eighth but Antonio Jimenez managed to turn a 6-3 double play to send it to the ninth. Sandefer then came out again in the bottom of the ninth and pitched around a two-out walk to seal the victory.

In all, the Black and Gold limited Stetson to just four hits on the night, as Siegel, Schoneboom and Sandefer combined for a four-hit shutout.

The starter Siegel moved to 2-1 on the season after tossing 5.0 innings of shutout baseball in which he gave up just one hit and no runs while striking out a season-high five batters over a season-long 5.0 innings. Sandefer was credited with his first save in a UCF uniform after finishing off the game over 3.0 innings of scoreless relief. Sandefer allowed just one hit and no runs over a season-long 3.0 innings while striking out two en route to earning the save.

DeAmez Ross led the Knights offensively by going 2-for-5 at the plate with a double, while Espinal drove in a game-high two runs on a 1-for-4 performance.

The win not only marked UCF’s 10th in its last 11 games, but also its sixth of its last seven in the all-time series over Stetson.

After four games away from home, the Knights will return to John Euliano Park to host Houston for their first home Big 12 series of the season. The three-game set will run Friday to Sunday. Friday and Saturday’s games are set for 6 p.m. and Sunday finale will come at 1 p.m.