Baseball Routs K-State 15-3 in Series OpenerBaseball Routs K-State 15-3 in Series Opener

Baseball Routs K-State 15-3 in Series Opener

by James Warnick
Box Score

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The UCF offense banged out 20 hits en route to defeating Kansas State 15-3 in the series opener on Friday night at Tointon Family Stadium.  

Chase Krewson led the way by going a perfect 5-for-5 at the plate. Aris Rivera followed by going 4-for-6 and Antonio Jimenez had a pair of extra-base hits and a game-high four RBIs. Jimenez set the tone for the Black and Gold early with a three-run first-inning home run.

“The at-bats were really good. DeAmez started us off with a backside double and Antonio followed with a big three-run home run. We then continued to scratch offensively,” head coach Rich Wallace said. “Wicker then got hit on the arm on the comebacker and we went to Angelo Smith, and he shut them down for four innings. Dom Castellano was excellent, and Boom (Kevin Schoneboom) finished it off.”

UCF (19-14, 4-9 Big 12) posted a crooked number early with five runs in the top of the first to take a quick 5-0 lead. DeAmez Ross led off the game with a double and Andrew Williamson worked a one-out walk. Jimenez followed with a no-doubt three-run home run to deep left-center to make it 3-0. Jimenez’s round tripper marked his sixth homer of the season and traveled a whopping 448 feet and was clocked at 108 MPH off the bat. Lex Boedicker then drew a walk and Rivera doubled to left to put two runners in scoring position. Krewson capped the big inning with a two-run single through the left side of the infield.

The Wildcats (21-12, 8-5 Big 12) responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first and another in the second to make it 5-3. Seth Dardar had the big hit for K-State with a two-run home run in the first.

The Knights added to their lead in the third with a pair of runs to extend their advantage to 7-3. With Williamson on the base paths after getting hit by a pitch, Rivera drove him home with a two-out RBI single to left and Braden Calise immediately followed with an RBI double. The Black and Gold tacked on another run in the fourth thanks to a sacrifice fly from Williamson.

UCF reliever Angelo Smith, who entered with one out in the second inning, pitched well in relief over the middle innings for the Knights. He went a season-long 4.0 innings and didn’t allow a run, as he gave up just three hits, while striking out three and not walking a batter. He also induced a pair of double plays while on the mound to keep the Wildcats off the board.

The Black and Gold then added a run in the top of the sixth to make it 9-3. Kendrey Maduro started the inning with a single. He later moved to second on a groundout and scored on a two-out RBI single from Williamson. UCF tacked on two more in the seventh to extend its lead to 11-3. Calise drove in his second run of the night with a two-out RBI single through the right side. He later moved to third on a hit from Maduro and scored on a wild pitch.

After Dominic Castellano struck out the Wildcats in order in the bottom of the seventh, the Black and Gold extended their lead to 14-3 with three more runs in the eighth. Jimenez started the scoring in the frame with an RBI double to center. Rivera then drove in his second run of the contest with an RBI single and Ross worked a two-out bases-loaded walk for another. The Knights scored their 15th run of the game in the top of the ninth via a two-out RBI hit from Krewson.

With 4.0 innings of shutout relief, Smith earned the win for the Knights to move 1-1 on the season. Castellano also pitched well in relief by tossing 2.1 innings of scoreless relief in which he struck out a season-high six batters. Kevin Schoneboom finished things off by pitching the final 1.1 innings of scoreless action. In all, the three relievers combined to toss 7.2 innings of scoreless relief and UCF’s staff did not issue a free pass in the ballgame.

Seven of UCF’s nine position players tallied multiple hits on the night. Krewson’s perfect 5-for-5 performance marked his first career five-hit game. He also drove in three runs and scored another. Rivera’s four-hit outing marked his first four-hit contest at the NCAA Division I level. He also doubled, scored three runs and drove in two more. Jimenez homered, doubled and finished with a 2-for-6 performance with four RBIs. Maduro, Ross, Wiliamson and Calise also had multiple hits for UCF in the contest. Of the Black and Gold’s 20 hits, six were for extra bases.

Dardar paced Kansas State by going 2-for-3 with two runs batted in.

The 15 runs marked a new high in Big 12 Conference play for the Knights. UCF’s previous best was 13 that it scored on March 15 of last season against Oklahoma State. The 20 hits also marked the Black and Gold’s most in a Big 12 Conference game.  

The win snapped a four-game skid by the Knights and also resulted in Kansas State's first home defeat of the season.

The Knights and Wildcats will continue the series on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT. UCF and K-State will then close the series on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT. Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and Marc Daniels will also have the call on the radio, as Saturday’s game will air live on FM 96.9 The Game and Sunday’s will be on 810 AM Orlando.