JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Andrew Williamson tied it with a clutch two-out RBI triple in the ninth, James Hankerson Jr. delivered a go-ahead two-run single in the 10th and Evan Jones struck out the side in the bottom of the inning to send UCF to a 4-2 come-from-behind extra-inning victory over Notre Dame at the Live Like Lou Jax Classic on Friday night at VyStar Ballpark.
The Knights improved to 4-1 on the season with the victory while Notre Dame dropped to 2-2 with the setback. The contest marked the first of three Live Like Lou Jax Classic contests on the weekend for the Black and Gold, as they will face Indiana Saturday and No. 1 LSU Sunday.
“That was a Friday night game on both sides,” head UCF coach Rich Wallace said. “I’m proud of our effort to hang in there when it wasn’t going our way for a long stretch of the game. But we found a way to keep it close and deliver there at the end.
Deadlocked in a pitcher’s duel with both starters putting up zeros over the first few innings, the Fighting Irish were the first to get on the board with a solo home run from Dylan Passo in the last of the fifth to take a 1-0 lead.
Notre Dame then threatened for more in the sixth inning, but Landon Moran made a nice play on a sharply hit ball to first and threw a strike to the plate to cut down a run. The Irish managed to pick up a run later in the inning, however, via an RBI single from Noah Coy to make it 2-0.
Despite NCBWA Preseason All-America selection Jack Radel throwing a no-hitter through six innings of play and having retired all 18 batters he faced, the Irish went to the bullpen to start the seventh inning. Fighting Irish reliever Noah Rooney then came on and too retired the Knights in order in the top of the seventh to keep the no-hit bid alive.
After 5.2 strong innings for Black and Gold starter Braden Smith in which he surrendered just two runs, senior reliever Kevin Schoneboom came on and retired the first four batters he faced which included back-to-back strikeouts in the seventh.
The Knights then got their first baserunner to reach with one out in the top of the eighth, as Moran worked a walk on a full count. Mason Wilson followed by breaking up Notre Dame’s no-hit bid with a pinch-hit single to center field to put runners on the corners. Javier Crespo then cut the deficit in half with a sacrifice fly to right to make it a 2-1 game.
After Jones painted the outside corner for an inning-ending strikeout in the last of the eighth, Stephen Chucka reached on an error to start the ninth for UCF. DeAmez Ross then dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move him into scoring position but Notre Dame reliever Oisin Lee responded with a strikeout for the second out. With the Knights down to their final out and the tying run on second base, the captain Williamson stepped to the plate and promptly delivered an RBI triple to center field on the first pitch he saw to deadlock the score at 2-2.
WILLY DELIVERS THE RBI TRIPLE TO TIE IT💪🏼
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) February 21, 2026
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After Jones retired the Irish in order in the last of the ninth to send the game to extra innings, UCF got two runners aboard with one out in the top of the 10th as Moran singled and Crespo was hit by a pitch. With one out and both runners in scoring position following a wild pitch, Hankerson Jr. stepped to the plate in a pinch-hit at-bat and pulled a sharp single through the right side of the infield to score both runners and give the Knights the lead.
HANK WITH A CLUTCH 2-RUN SINGLE IN THE 10TH😮💨
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) February 21, 2026
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Jones then remained on the mound for his third inning of work and promptly struck out the Irish in order in the last of the 10th to seal the victory.
Gutsy W ☑️ pic.twitter.com/0m3WCTjcDA
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) February 21, 2026
The right-hander Jones (1-0) earned his first victory in a UCF uniform after striking out five and not allowing a hit over 2.1 dominant innings of work. Schoneboom also had a nice relief appearance for the Knights by fanning three over a pair of shutout innings. The starter Smith too pitched well for the Black and Gold by striking out four while allowing just two runs on six hits over 5.2 innings. Notre Dame reliever Chase Van Ameyde was tagged with the loss to drop to 0-1 on the year.
Hankerson Jr. led UCF the Knights offensively by going 1-for-1 with two runs batted in while Williamson finished 1-for-4 with an RBI triple. Moran too had a nice outing by going 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored.
The contest marked UCF’s first meeting against Notre Dame since Feb. 20, 2005.
The Knights will continue the Live Like Lou Jax Classic on Saturday by taking on the Indiana Hoosiers at 4 p.m. The game will be streamed live on Watch.D1Baseaball.com ($) and live audio will also be available at UCFKnights.com. The Black and Gold will then conclude the tournament by facing the defending national champion and top-ranked LSU Tigers on Sunday at 3 p.m.