Baseball Routs Monmouth 17-1 in Series OpenerBaseball Routs Monmouth 17-1 in Series Opener

Baseball Routs Monmouth 17-1 in Series Opener

by Adrian Delgado
Box Score

ORLANDO - The UCF baseball team scored early and often en route to defeating Monmouth 17-1 in game one of a three-game series on Friday night at John Euliano Park.

The Black and Gold (10-3) offense hit out a trio of three-run home runs on the evening with Lex Boedicker and Dylan King launching homers out in the first inning and Andrew Williamson hitting his out in the fifth. The Knights scored in five of the eight innings in which they batted on their way to posting season highs in both runs (17) and hits (21). The victory brings UCF’s win streak to four and is also the fourth game in a row in which it has scored 12 or more runs. The Knights have outscored their opponents 54-7 over the stretch.

Four UCF pitchers combined to limit the Hawks (4-8) to just one run on eight hits while striking out 10 on the night. Redshirt junior Kris Sosnowski (2-0) earned the win after giving up just one run on six hits while striking out two over 5.0 innings of work. The outing marked Sosnowski’s first career start and a career-high in innings pitched. Camden Wicker then made his first appearance as a Knight and struck out five over a pair of scoreless innings. Drew Bellis and Dakota Stone finished things off with a scoreless inning of work apiece and combined to fan three batters.

“Obviously the pitching was really good,” head UCF coach Rich Wallace said. “The quality of Sosnowski to command his four pitches allowed us to play defense. Wicker’s first outing was really nice to see. The change-up was in play and a newfound cutter. And then Bellis and Stone were also clean.”

The Knights would start the scoring early with seven runs in the first inning. With DeAmez Ross on third and one away, Williamson would rip a double to right-center field, scoring Ross and putting himself in scoring position. Matt Prevesk would keep the line moving with a single to left, placing runners at the corners. With two on and one out, Boedicker sent a rocket to right field, collecting his third home run of the season and tacking on three more runs for the Black and Gold. Following Boedicker’s home run, Braden Calise would reach on a first pitch single and steal second. With runners on the corners after a Monmouth error, King would hit another three-run blast to right field, giving the Knights an early 7-0 advantage. In all, UCF would bring 10 batters to the plate and record seven runs off of six hits in the last of the first. The two homers would also make five home runs hit in the first inning within UCF’s last three games. 

The Black and Gold offense kept things going in the second, Espinal and Williamson reached on consecutive singles. The two would then successfully execute a double steal, placing runners on second and third with only one out in the inning. Boedicker would load the bases with a walk. With the bases loaded Calise hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Williamson and making it an 8-0 game.

Jimenez led off the bottom of the third with a first-pitch double to left-center field and eventually scored off a sacrifice fly by Ross to extend UCF’s lead to 9-0.

With two runners on base following back-to-back singles from Ross and Espinal in the fifth, Williamson would belt out UCF’s third homer of the night to right field. The three-run home run marked his team-leading fifth of the season and his fourth RBI of the night. Chase Krewson later drove in a pair of runs in the inning with a two-run single and Calise scored UCF’s sixth run of the frame on a wild pitch.

Leading 15-1 in the seventh, Aris Rivera knocked in Calise with a single down the leftfield line. Freshman Alex Rodriguez followed it up with a single of his own, bringing in Jimenez to record his first collegiate RBI and cap UCF’s scoring on the night.  

In his first collegiate start on the mound, Sosnowski scattered six hits and had a pair of double plays turned behind him en route to allowing just one run over 5.0 innings of solid baseball.

“I mean, Sos (Sosnowski) is one of our best pitchers. He's prepared for this. We sent him out last summer, and he started all summer to get ready for this. Once we got the pitch count to where we wanted to, this is what we were leaning towards the whole time,” Wallace said.

Wicker was strong in relief following Sosnowski, as he retired the side in order in the sixth and struck the side in the seventh.

“I'm feeling great, honestly. It just took a couple weeks to get back to full strength. So, once I got back to full strength, I finally got the opportunity and made it count,” Wicker said.

 

Williamson led the way offensively by going 4-for-5 with four RBIs and two runs scored. He finished a triple shy of the cycle, and the outing marked his first collegiate four-hit night. Prevesk too tallied four hits in the game by going 4-for-5 with two runs scored, Boedicker followed by going 2-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. The bullpen continues to be a force to be reckoned with, as Wicker, Bellis and Stone combined for seven strikeouts in which they surrendered just two hits over 4.0 innings of scoreless relief.

“Yeah, I was excited. I felt great out there and to be under the Friday night lights. It was awesome. The crowd was awesome too, so I enjoyed it for sure,” Sosnowski said.

Eleven different Knights recorded hits in the contest, which included all nine starting position players.

UCF baseball will be back at John Euliano Park on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. for game two of the series against Monmouth. The series will then conclude on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.