ORLANDO – The UCF baseball team will continue its current home stretch by welcoming No. 15 TCU to Orlando for a three-game Big 12 Conference series.
The series will run Thursday to Saturday at John Euliano Park. Thursday and Friday’s games are set for 6 p.m., while Saturday’s finale is scheduled for a 12 p.m. first pitch. All three games will be broadcast live on ESPN+ as well as on the radio on FM 96.9 The Game. Live stats can also be followed by visiting UCF.Statbroadcast.com.
The Knights will enter the weekend with a 20-16 overall record and a 4-11 Big 12 Conference clip. After dropping two of three at Kansas State over the weekend, the Black and Gold responded by defeating in-state foe Florida A&M by a score of 5-1 on Tuesday night. This weekend’s action will mark games two to four of UCF’s current stretch in which it will host eight of nine games at John Euliano Park.
Last weekend at K-State, the Black and Gold first recorded 20 hits en route to defeating the Wildcats 15-3 in the opener before falling in games two and three by scores of 3-1 and 8-6. In last Friday’s opener, UCF’s 20 hits and 15 runs both marked the most by the Black and Gold in a Big 12 Conference game.
In that contest, 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 Knights posted a crooked number early with five runs in the first inning and didn’t look back on their way to tallying the blowout win.
UCF reliever Angelo Smith 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 on three hits and struck out three while not walking a batter. In all, three relievers combined to toss 7.2 innings of scoreless relief and UCF’s staff did not issue a free pass in the ballgame. Following Smith, Dominic Castellano pitched 2.1 scoreless frames in which he struck out a season-high six batters and allowed just two hits, and Kevin Schoneboom finished things off by tossing the final 1.1 innings of scoreless and hitless relief.
On Tuesday against FAMU, starter Grant Siegel and reliever Dom Stagliano combined to limit the Rattlers to just one run on three hits. Siegel went a season-long 6.0 innings in which he surrendered just one run on three hits while striking out four to earn the win. Stagliano then came on in his first relief appearance of the season and pitched three perfect innings en route to earning a three-inning save. Stagliano struck out five of the nine batters he faced, including striking out the side in order in the ninth.
Antonio Jimenez led the offense by going a perfect 2-for-2 with a game-high four runs batted in. He started the scoring in the third inning with a two-run double and later added a sac fly in the fifth and an RBI single in the seventh. Andrew Sundean drove in UCF’s other run in the game with a solo home run to left field in the sixth inning. Sundean’s round tripper moved him into the top-10 in the all-time Black and Gold record books for career home runs with 30 for his career.
Jimenez, Andrew Williamson and Chase Krewson all had multiple-hit performances for UCF in Tuesday’s ballgame against Florida A&M.
Edian Espinal leads the Black and Gold on the season with a .372 batting average, .480 on-base percentage and eight stolen bases. DeAmez Ross is next with a .353 average and fronts the team in hits with 54, while Williamson is batting .346 and leads the team in doubles with 14 and is tied for the lead in homers with seven and second in both runs scored (36) and RBIs (36). Lex Boedicker is tops in RBIs with 37 while Jimenez leads in runs scored with 37. Right-hander Russell Sandefer leads the team in ERA with a 1.44 clip while Wiley Hartley paces the team in innings pitched with 41.1 innings. He also holds a 4-1 record. Southpaw Dominic Castellano fronts the team with a 5-1 record and 41 strikeouts in 28.1 innings.
SCHEDULED STARTING PITCHERS FOR THE SERIES
Sophomore right-hander Camden Wicker will make his third straight series opener start on Thursday vs. TCU. Wicker currently holds a 0-0 record and a 6.00 ERA over 12.0 innings of work. Fellow sophomore righty Russell Sandefer will make his second consecutive weekend start and as a Knight on Friday (1-2, 1.44 ERA). Saturday’s starter for UCF is to be announced. The Horned Frogs will go with right-hander Tommy LaPour in the opener on Thursday (5-2, 2.44 ERA). Friday and Saturday’s starters are to be announced for TCU.
ABOUT TCU
TCU enters the series in second place in the Big 12 standings with an 11-4 league record and a 28-10 overall record. They are ranked as high as 15th by Baseball America and 25th according to D1Baseball. The Horned Frogs are coming off a 6-5 extra-inning setback to Dallas Baptist, but have still managed to win nine of their last 12 and have outscored their opponents 111-48 during the stretch. TCU has swept back-to-back conference series by sweeping both BYU and No. 22 Kansas at home over the last two weeks.
The Horned Frogs finished their 2024 campaign with a 33-21 overall record and a 14-16 record in the Big 12, finishing ninth in the conference. TCU was picked to finish third in the conference according to the 2025 Big 12 Baseball Preseason Poll. Within the past five years, the program has collected two conference tournament championships and one regular-season championship. TCU is led by head coach Kirk Saarloos, who is in his fourth year as head of the program.
Freshman Sawyer Strosnider leads his team in batting average (.393), slugging percentage (.714) and RBIs (42). His 42 RBIs and 55 hits also lead the Big 12 Conference. Chase Brunson is currently slashing .340/.406/.597 and leads in home runs with nine. On the mound, right-hander Tommy LaPour currently posts a 2.44 ERA with 46 strikeouts pitched in 51.2 innings. Southpaw Braeden Sloan follows closely with a 2.50 ERA and a team-leading 49 punchouts in 36.0 innings pitched.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Thursday’s opener will mark the seventh all-time meeting between the Knights and Horned Frogs and the first as conference mates in the Big 12. The series is deadlocked at 3-3, as UCF took two of three in Fort Worth in 2006, and TCU returned the favor by winning two of three in Orlando in 2007.
HITTING ON ALL CYLINDERS
As a team, the Knights currently hold the 11th-best team batting average in the nation with a .323 average. UCF currently has eight players with 25 or more at-bats hitting above .300 and four batting over .340 in Edian Espinal (.372), DeAmez Ross (.353), Andrew Williamson (.346) and Lex Boedicker (.341).
LEADER OF THE OFFENSE
Andrew Williamson has been Mr. Consistent for the Knights. Williamson had a reached-base streak of 31 games, the longest of the season.
Williamson also has a knack for reaching extra bases. He currently has hit 14 doubles, which is the second most in the big 12 and ranks him in the top 40 nationally.
He also has the second highest slugging percentage on the team with a .624 average percentage, which puts him on track to finish the season with one of the best percentages in school history.
THE HITMAN
One thing is for sure, when DeAmez Ross is up to bat, it is almost certain he is going to hit that ball. Ross, who has a .353 batting average, has recorded 54 hits this season, the second most in the Big 12. He had an 18-game hitting streak recently, the longest by any player this season. He also has the most multiple-hit games on the team with 16.
Ross’s play has made him a nightmare for pitchers. His 10.2 rate currently makes him the fourth hardest player to strike out in the Big 12.
HE GETS ON BASE
Antonio Jimenez currently holds the longest active reached-base streak on the team. In the Knights’ last game, a 5-1 win over Florida A&M, he extended the streak to 18 games by going 2-for-2 at the plate with a game-high four RBIs.
ON DECK
Following this weekend’s action, the Knights will head to Boca Raton for a midweek game at Florida Atlantic on Tuesday, April 22. Following Tuesday’s midweek action, the Black and Gold will return home to welcome first-place and 18th-ranked West Virginia to John Euliano Park next weekend.
Onto a Ranked Series 😤 pic.twitter.com/87SdBc3SjX
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) April 16, 2025