ORLANDO – Behind 8.0 stellar innings of work from sophomore Matt Sauser, UCF Baseball took the rubber match over No. 15 TCU by a score of 4-2 on Saturday afternoon to earn its first conference home series victory of the season and first ranked series win since 2021.
Sauser was lights out on the mound for the Knights (22-17, 6-12 Big 12) by recording a career high in strikeouts (8) and innings pitched (8.0). His eight innings marked the longest outing a UCF pitcher has gone this season. Sauser also retired the side, in order, in six of his eight innings.
The highlight of the right-hander’s outing came in the top of the fourth. With the game locked at 2-2 and one out in the inning, TCU (29-12, 12-6) had two runners in scoring position via a hit by pitch and a single by consecutive batters. Sauser went on to strike out the next two batters and strand both baserunners. Along with the two strikeouts, he went on to retire the next 14 batters he faced before allowing a hit in the top of the ninth. Sauser hurled a total of 104 pitches in the afternoon, with 77 of them being strikes.
“To have a guy go out there on a Saturday against a really good team, to give his team a chance to win, and to basically win the game for us was great to see,” head coach Rich Wallace said.
Coming in Clutch @SauserMatt 🔥 pic.twitter.com/TFfBA7qTB0
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) April 19, 2025
The Horned Frogs got on the board first with a trio of singles in the top of the second, giving them an early 2-0 advantage. The Knights answered back quickly with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning to tie the game. Andrew Sundean led off the inning by sending a 388-foot rocket over the left field wall. This marked Sundean’s fourth home run of the season and third round-tripper in the past five games. Chase Krewson followed with a walk and advanced to third on a single from Kendrey Maduro. With runners on the corners and two outs, Braden Calise knocked an infield single to third base, scoring Krewson and tying the game.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Black and Gold capitalized on another opportunity when Sundean, leading off again, ripped a double down the left field line. He advanced to third and eventually scored courtesy of a fielder’s choice by Dylan King to give UCF a 3-2 advantage.
In the bottom of the seventh with two outs, Andrew Williamson tacked on some insurance with a 387-foot solo-homer to left-center field to double the lead to two. The home run was clocked at 103 MPH off the bat and marked Williamson’s team-leading eighth of the year.
Another day… two more home runs. @Kia Electric Moment of the Game⚡️ pic.twitter.com/U4lsOcj1dW
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) April 19, 2025
Alex Galvan relieved Sauser with one on in the ninth. Galvan promptly retired the first three batters he faced—via strikeout, groundout to collect his second save of the season. The win locked up UCF’s first ranked series win since Feb. 27, 2021, when the Black and Gold took two of three at No. 1 Ole Miss.
“Huge win, especially against a team like this coming in here. We just had to bear down and get the wins, and we did,” sophomore right-handed pitcher Sauser said.
Sundean led the offense, knocking two extra-base hits to go 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Behind him, Calise went 1-for-2 with an RBI and a walk. King finished 1-for-3 with an RBI while Andrew Williamson went 1-for-4 on the afternoon with an RBI and a run scored.
The Knights will be back in action on Tuesday, as they’ll face Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton before travelling back to Orlando to host No. 18 West Virginia at John Euliano Park April 25-27.