Baseball Clinches Series with 18-3 Saturday Victory over MonmouthBaseball Clinches Series with 18-3 Saturday Victory over Monmouth

Baseball Clinches Series with 18-3 Saturday Victory over Monmouth

by James Warnick
Box Score

ORLANDO – Wiley Hartley tossed 5.2 solid innings of work and UCF used a seven-run sixth inning to defeat Monmouth 18-3 on Saturday night at John Euliano Park.

The Knights (11-3) have now won five in a row and have clinched the weekend series over the Hawks (4-9). UCF has scored double figures in all five games and has outscored its opponent by an impressive tally of 72-10 during the streak. The 18 runs on Saturday marked a season high for the Black and Gold.

“Wiley battled, pitched and did what Wiley Hartley does,” head UCF coach Rich Wallace said. “We managed to have the short game be a weapon for us in the sixth inning with three consecutive bunt hits. And we kind of opened the game up after that.”

Scoreless in the third, the Black and Gold loaded the bases with one away thanks to a trio of free passes. Following a popout, DeAmez Ross forced Monmouth’s starter Tommy Kent into a balk by coming down the line at third to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.

UCF then tacked on two more runs in the fourth to make it 3-0. Following back-to-back singles, Braden Calise came home on a wild pitch for the first run of the frame. Matt Prevesk later scored on a sacrifice fly from Kendrey Maduro to give the Black and Gold a three-run advantage.

Edian Espinal led off the fifth with a single. He later stole second and moved to third on a throw to first. Andrew Sundean drove him home with a one-out RBI single to right field to make it 4-0.

With UCF holding to a 4-1 lead in the last of the sixth, the Knight offense posted a crooked number with a seven-run frame to extend their lead to 11-1. Antonio Jimenez led things off with a double and Maduro, Ross, Espinal followed with back-to-back-to-back but singles. Andrew Williamson then worked a bases-loaded walk and Sundean delivered a two-run double off the wall in right field to make it 8-1. Lex Boedicker then followed with his second three-run home run to right field in as many days with a big fly to give the Knights’ the 10-run lead.

After Monmouth tacked on a pair of unearned runs in the top of the seventh, the UCF offense responded with three more runs of its own to make it 13-3. With the bases loaded and two away, Calise extended the inning by reaching on an error to bring in both Espinal and Williamson. Prevesk followed with an RBI single to left to make it 14-3.

The Black and Gold would go on to add four more runs in the eighth to put the game away. In his first collegiate at-bat, Robbie Demetree plated a pair of runs with a two-run double to right. Calise then picked up an RBI with a single up the middle and Sundean later scored the final run of the game via a wild pitch.

Ten different Knights recorded a hit in the ballgame and Espinal, Prevesk and Calise led the way with three hits apiece. Eight different UCF hitters drove in a run with Sundean and Boedicker pacing the team in that category with three RBIs each. Sundean finished 2-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and three batted in while Boedicker went 1-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBIs.

The senior captain Hartley moved to 3-0 on the season after allowing just one run on two hits over 5.2 innings. After giving up a hit in the first, Hartley then faced the minimum in each of the next four innings. He had a stretch in which he retired nine straight hitters and finished the night with four strikeouts. Dominic Castellano then came on and pitched out of a jam in the sixth and he was followed by Matt Sauser, Kevin Schoneboom and Carter Stanford. Schoneboom and Stanford combined to toss the final 2.2 innings of the game in which they struck out five and allowed just one hit and no runs.

The Knights and Hawks will close the weekend series on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. Following Sunday’s series finale, UCF will then host Miami on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the final game of a five-game homestand. The Black and Gold will then open Big 12 Conference play next weekend at BYU.