ORLANDO – Russell Sandefer and Dominic Castellano combined to strike out a season-high 15 batters while Chase Krewson and Dylan King both launched out home runs en route to leading UCF to a 5-1 victory over No. 15 TCU on Friday night at John Euliano Park.
The sophomore Sandefer went a season-long 5.2 innings and struck out a career-high eight batters in just his second start as a Knight. He surrendered just one run on six hits to earn the win on the mound. Senior southpaw Castellano then came on and struck out a season-high seven batters over 3.1 scoreless innings of relief. He allowed just two hits in the outing on his way to earning his first save of the season.
Double Trouble 😮💨
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) April 19, 2025
Sandefer | 5.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 8 K, 2 BB
Castellano | 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 7 K, 0 BB pic.twitter.com/pG1Qqnof6d
UCF evened the series and improved to 21-17 overall and 5-12 in Big 12 Conference play with the victory. TCU dropped to 29-11 and 12-5 in league play with the setback. The rubber match and series finale will come on Saturday at noon.
“He (Russell Sandefer) set the tone. Gave us a great chance and a great start. I couldn’t be more proud of him,” UCF head coach Rich Wallace said. “And then Dom came in and looked like Dom Castellano.”
The Horned Frogs looked to break a scoreless tie in the top of the third by loading the bases with nobody out. But back countered Black and Gold starter Sandefer with a strikeout followed by an inning-ending double play to escape the jam.
With two on and two out in the last of the third following a pair of free passes, Lex Boedicker put the Knights on the board with a ground-rule RBI double down the leftfield line to give UCF an early 1-0 lead.
With Sandefer putting up zeros on the mound for the Black and Gold, UCF’s offense added two more runs in the fourth to make it 3-0. Krewson led off the inning with a solo home run to right field. The round tripper marked the sophomore outfielders first in a UCF uniform and he also became the 10th different Knight to leave the yard on the season. DeAmez Ross also drove in a run in the inning with a one-out RBI single.
The Knights then added a run in the fifth to make it 4-0. Antonio Jimenez led the off the bottom of the frame with a double down the line. He later moved to third on a groundout and scored on a squeeze bunt off the bat of Braden Calise.
TCU got on the board in the top of the sixth thanks to a pair of triples from Sawyer Strosnider and Chase Bruson to make it 5-1. The Knights responded in the bottom of the inning, however, thanks to a solo home run from Dylan King to deep right field. The homer marked King’s seventh of the season to tie for the team lead and traveled 382 feet and was clocked at 105 MPH off the bat.
How about a homer from @dylanking1616 AND @Chase_Krewson ⁉️@Kia Electric Moment of the Game⚡️ pic.twitter.com/PwjCazcJHC
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) April 19, 2025
The reliever Castellano pitched around a couple of baserunners in the seventh, struck out the side in the eighth, and retired the Horned Frogs in order in the ninth to seal the victory.
Sandefer moved to 2-2 on the season with the victory while Castellano earned his first save of the year. TCU’s Braeden Sloan was tagged with the loss after allowing four runs to drop to 3-2 on the season.
Jimenez paced the Black and Gold from the plate by going 2-for-3 with two doubles and a run scored. Krewson finished 1-for-2 with a homer, while King went 1-for-3 with a round tripper. Ross, Boedicker and Calise also drove in runs in the game for the Knights. Brunson led the Horned Frogs by going 2-for-4 with an RBI.
The Knights and Horned Frogs will conclude the series on Saturday at noon. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ as well as FM 96.9 The Game. Following Saturday’s series finale, UCF will head to Boca Raton to face Florida Atlantic in midweek action on Tuesday before returning home to welcome No. 18 West Virginia to John Euliano Park next weekend.