Baseball Falls to Indiana in Game Two of Live Like Lou Jax ClassicBaseball Falls to Indiana in Game Two of Live Like Lou Jax Classic

Baseball Falls to Indiana in Game Two of Live Like Lou Jax Classic

by James Warnick
Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The UCF baseball team found itself on the wrong side of a 6-1 contest to Indiana on day two of the Live Like Lou Jax College Baseball Classic on Saturday afternoon at VyStar Ballpark.

The Knights dropped to 4-2 on the season with the setback while the Hoosiers improved to 2-4. The Black and Gold will conclude the weekend tournament on Sunday against No. 1 LSU.

“It was a well-played game by Indiana in all three phases,” head UCF coach Rich Wallace said. “That’s a talented well-coached team. And they kicked our tail out there today.”

IU struck first with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning to take a quick 2-0 advantage. Hogan Denny and Landen Fry each picked up RBI singles in the opening frame and Cooper Malamazian added one of his own in the last of the third to make it 3-0.

The Knights threatened in the top of the fourth, as Andrew Williamson singled and Landon Moran worked a walk to put two on with one out. But IU starter Brayton Thomas responded with back-to-back strikeouts to keep it a 3-0 Hoosier advantage.

Indiana took advantage of a UCF defensive miscue in the fifth to add an unearned run and followed it with an RBI single from Malamazian to make it 5-0.

The Black and Gold got a pair of runners aboard in the top of the sixth, as Jordan Lodise walked and Andrew Williamson was hit by a pitch. Lodise later stole third and Javier Crespo brought him home with an RBI single for what proved to be UCF’s lone run of the day.

Mateo Gray continued to pitch well in relief for the Knights, as he recorded a pair of strikeouts in the last of the sixth to strand a runner on third. Gray ended up tossing 3.2 solid innings of relief in which he allowed just two earned runs while striking out four and walking one to help keep the Knights in it during the middle innings.

The Hoosiers added a run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly, but Black and Gold reliever Anthony Lariz responded by inducing a 5-3 inning-ending double play to keep it a 6-1 contest. In all, the redshirt freshman Lariz did not allow a hit or a run over a pair of clean innings of relief for the Knights.

UCF got a one-out double from Crespo in the ninth, but IU reliever Reagan Rivera pitched around it to record seal the victory for the Hoosiers.

Indiana’s Thomas and Rivera combined to allow just three hits on the day. Thomas (1-0) went 5.0 innings to earn the win while Rivera went the final 4.0 innings to earn his first save of the season. UCF starter Joey Trombley was tagged with the loss to fall to 1-1 on the year.

Crespo led the Black and Gold offensively by going 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI while Williamson finished with a 1-for-3 showing. Denny paced Indiana by going 3-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI while Malamazian went 2-for-2 with three runs batted in.

IU was picked to finish fifth in the 17-team Big Ten Conference this season.

The contest marked the first-ever meeting between UCF and Indiana on the diamond.

The Knights will close the Live Like Lou Jax College Baseball Classic on Sunday by facing the defending national champion and top-ranked LSU Tigers at 3 p.m. The game will be streamed live on Watch.D1Baseball.com ($) as well as on the radio at FM 96.9 The Game. Following Sunday’s tournament finale, the Black and Gold will close a current five-game road trip at Jacksonville University on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at John Sessions Stadium.