BOCA RATON, Fla. – The UCF baseball team scored early and often and Grant Siegel went the distance on the mound to lead the Knights to a 17-2 run-rule victory over Florida Atlantic on Tuesday night at FAU Baseball Stadium.
The win marked the Black and Gold’s third straight and fourth in their last five games. The Knights move to 23-17 with the victory while FAU drops to 27-13 with the setback.
All nine Black and Gold starters recorded hits in the contest and DeAmez Ross led the way with three hits and a game-high five runs batted in. Siegel went a season-long 7.0 innings on the mound and struck out a season-high seven batters on his way to improving to 4-2 on the season.
“It’s not easy to come down the day-of and get on the bus and do all the things we had to do. But we had a good BP, and the team was prepared to play, and it showed,” head coach Rich Wallace said. “It was great to get off to that 4-0 start and then Siegel went out and pitched the way that he did. We also defended at a high level. Overall, it was a really good night.”
The Knights got off to a quick start with four runs in the top of the first to open a 4-0 lead. With Antonio Jimenez and Andrew Williamson in scoring position following a single, walk and double steal, Andrew Sundean drove them both home with a two-run double. UCF later loaded the bases with two away and Braden Calise drove in two more runs with a two-run single to center to double the lead.
T1 | Sunny with a two-run double to get us started 🙂↕️ pic.twitter.com/y7XIw8NW0d
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) April 22, 2025
FAU got a run in the bottom of the first with a solo home run from John Schroeder, but the Black and Gold responded with another four-spot in the top of the third to extend their lead to 8-1. With two on and two out in the frame, Ross delivered a two-run single to right to make it 6-1. Jimenez then immediately followed with a two-run single to center that Ross managed to score all the way from first on to give the Knights the big lead.
AND ✌️ more, courtesy of @Antonio_13J
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) April 22, 2025
Another four run inning 🤝 pic.twitter.com/3pnrsdJm5b
The UCF offense wasn’t done, as it added another crooked number in the fourth with six more runs all with two outs to make it 14-1. With Lex Boedicker in scoring position and two away, Kendrey Maduro drove him home with a double to left. After back-to-back walks, Ross then legged out an infield single to third base to drive in his third run of the game and Jimenez followed by working a bases loaded walk to make it 11-1. Williamson then helped the Knights break it open with a bases-clearing triple off the wall in right-center field.
3-Run Triple 🤝 @AndrewWGNF11
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) April 23, 2025
How about a 6️⃣-run inning?! pic.twitter.com/4UU1Ky2iuf
With Siegel putting zeros up on the board on the mound, the Black and Gold then added three more runs in the top of the seventh to put the game away. Dylan King started the scoring in the frame with a two-out RBI single to bring in Chase Krewson. Ross then capped UCF’s scoring with a two-run single.
With the Black and Gold having reeled off 13 unanswered runs, the Owls picked up a run with two outs in the last of the seventh, but Siegel managed to retire the next man he faced to end the ballgame via the run rule.
Siegel went the full 7.0 innings and allowed just two runs on five hits while striking out seven and walking just two. He retired the side in order in both the second and third innings and had a stretch in which he sat down nine straight hitters on the night. The 7.0-inning outing matched a career-high for Siegel. Eight different pitchers appeared in the contest for FAU and starter Dylan Oborne was tagged with the loss to fall to 0-1.
Behind Ross’ 3-for-6 and career-best five-RBI performance, Jimenez and Williamson each drove in three runs for UCF on the evening, and Boedicker and Maduro both went 2-for-3 with three runs scored.
The 17 runs for UCF tied for the second-most of the season.
The contest marked the second and final season meeting between the Knights and Owls. The in-state foes split the season series, as FAU previously pulled out a 4-3 contest in Orlando back in February.
The Knights will now return home to host first place and 10th-ranked West Virginia this weekend in a three-game Big 12 series at John Euliano Park. The series will run Friday to Sunday with game times set for 6 p.m., 6 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.