ORLANDO – Fresh off a 2-0 shutout victory over Stetson on Tuesday, the UCF baseball team will continue a four-game homestand by welcoming No. 23 Kansas to town for a three-game league series.
The Big 12 series will run Friday to Sunday at John Euliano Park. Friday and Saturday’s games are set for 6 p.m., while Sunday’s finale is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start. All three games will air live on ESPN+ and Friday and Sunday's will also be on the radio at FM 96.9 The Game. Live stats can also be followed by visiting UCF.Statbroadcast.com.
The Knights will enter the weekend with an 18-10 overall record and a 3-6 conference mark. UCF is currently receiving votes for this week’s NCBWA Top 25 Poll and most recently pulled out a 2-0 win over neighboring foe Stetson in a lightning-shortened contest on Tuesday. The victory snapped a five-game skid for the Knights.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Matt Sauser was the star of Tuesday’s game, as he went a career-long 5.0 innings and allowed just one hit and no runs to lead the Black and Gold to the victory. Sauser retired the first 14 batters he faced, as he was perfect through 4.2 innings. After Jordan Taylor reached on an error for Stetson’s first base runner, Jayden Hylton then recorded the Hatters’ first hit with a single through the right side. Sauser then responded by retiring Danny Perez via popout to end the threat.
The UCF offense scored a run in the first and another in the fifth. In the opening inning, Edian Espinal started a two-out rally by getting hit by a pitch. Andrew Williamson followed with a single through the right side and Lex Boedicker put the Black and Gold on the board with an RBI double. The Knights then managed to piece together another two-out rally in the bottom of the fifth to add to their lead. Antonio Jimenez started it off in the inning with a double and Espinal followed with a double of his own to left field to score Jimenez and give the Black and Gold a 2-0 advantage.
The Knights then went on to bring in Angelo Smith from the bullpen to start the sixth inning and right before the first pitch of the inning was delivered, play was halted due to lightning. After an hour and forty-minute delay, the game was called due to weather for a five-inning shutout.
Sauser earned the win to move to 2-0 on the year. He tossed 5.0 innings, allowed just one hit, no runs and struck out two. He retired 15 of the 17 batters he faced in the game. Offensively, Espinal and Boedicker led the Knights by each going 1-for-2 with a double and an RBI.
With a hit apiece in the game, Williamson and Espinal both extended their reached base safely streaks to an impressive 26 games.
Prior to Tuesday’s win, UCF dropped three tightly contested Big 12 games at Cincinnati last weekend with scores of 6-4, 7-6 in 10 innings, and 10-7. The Black and Gold had a lead in all three contests but couldn’t hold on, as they fell in all three. Free passes plagued the Knights pitching staff in the series, as they walked 22 batters and hit seven more.
Despite dropping the three games, DeAmez Ross had a big series for the Knights by hitting .571 from the leadoff spot (8-for-14) with four runs scored. Boedicker too had a big series by batting .545 with three doubles and two runs batted in, while Williamson hit .385 with two home runs and six RBIs.
Espinal paces the team with a .444 batting average, .553 on-base percentage, 31 runs scored and six stolen bases. His .444 average currently is tops in the Big 12 and ranks 11th nationally. Ross is next with a .378 average and 45 hits, while Williamson leads in the power numbers with a .371 average, 13 doubles, seven homers and a .714 slugging percentage. Wiley Hartly leads the starting rotation with a 4-0 record, a 3.15 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 34.1 innings. Alex Galvan is one of the top arms from the bullpen with a 0-0 record, one save and a 0.61 ERA in 14.2 innings of work, while Dominic Castellano is 5-1 in relief with a team-high 30 strikeouts in 21.1 innings.
HITTING ON ALL CYLINDERS
As a team, the Knights currently hold the eighth-best team batting average in the nation with a .327 average. UCF currently has six players with 10 or more at-bats hitting above .300 and three batting over .370 in Edian Espinal (.444), DeAmez Ross (.378) and Andrew Williamson (.371). Espinal’s .444 average is good enough to lead the conference and ranks 11th nationally.
BEWARE OF THE BULLPEN
The Knights’ bullpen has been red hot to start the season. So far, the group of 15 pitchers have pitched a combined 126.2 innings, in which they have put together an ERA of 3.13, and allowed only 98 hits and 44 earned runs while striking out 149 batters. Three pitchers—Kris Sosnowski, Mateo Gray and Matt Sauser—currently have an ERA of zero. Dominic Castellano leads the way in wins (5-1) and strikeouts (30) while Alex Galvan, Russell Sandefer and Angelo Smith are tied atop the team in saves as they each have one.
ABOUT KANSAS
The Jayhawks will come to Orlando with a 24-6 overall record and currently tied for third in the conference standings with a 6-3 league mark. KU is ranked 23rd nationally in this week’s Baseball America poll and receiving votes for both the USA TODAY Coaches and NCBWA polls. Kansas has won six straight after sweeping Oklahoma State at home last weekend and pulling out a trio of midweek games over South Dakota State and St. Thomas. The Jayhawks were picked to finish ninth in the Big 12 this season after placing seventh last year with a 31-23 overall record and a 15-15 Big 12 clip.
Brady Ballinger leads KU with an even .400 batting average. He also paces the club in slugging (.745), on-base percentage (.569), doubles (9), walks (38) and runs scored (40). Dariel Osoria is next with a .352 average while Jackson Hauge is hitting .325 and leads the team in home runs with 13 and RBIs with 39. Preseason Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Dominic Voegele leads Kansas’ starting rotation with a 4-2 record, 5.36 ERA and 47 strikeouts over 40.1 innings pitched. Gavin Brasosky has solid numbers for the bullpen with a 0-0 record and 0.79 ERA over 11.1 innings, while Eric Lin paces the team in saves with three.
Kansas is led by head coach Dan Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald is in his third season in Lawrence.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. KANSAS
Friday’s opener will mark the sixth all-time meeting between the Knights and Jayhawks. UCF will enter play holding to a 4-1 series advantage after taking two of three from KU in Lawrence last year which included a doubleheader sweep in the final two games. The other two meetings were neutral site contests that UCF pulled out both games in the 90s. This weekend will mark the first time Kansas has visited John Euliano Park.
GETTIN’ WINS
Senior pitcher Dominic Castellano has been one of the standouts of the Knights’ pitching staff this season. He currently leads the team in wins with five, which is good enough for the eighth-most wins by a pitcher in the country and is tied for the conference lead.
THROWING SOME HEAT
The Knights’ pitching staff has started the season hot. The team’s performance on the mound performance has made it one of the top statistical performing staffs in the country. The team currently has the eighth-best ERA in the country with a 3.56 average and the nation’s No. 12 WHIP with a 1.23 clip.
ON DECK
Following this weekend’s series, the Black and Gold will hit the road next week for four games. UCF will first face North Florida in Jacksonville on Tuesday night before heading to Manhattan, Kansas, to face No. 22 Kansas State next weekend. The Knights will then host Florida A&M on Tuesday, April 15 in their next home game.
Ranked Kansas Coming to Town pic.twitter.com/RHH0wtvD1u
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) April 3, 2025