ORLANDO – The UCF baseball team dropped both ends of a Saturday doubleheader to South Florida by scores of 9-2 and 2-1 in 10 innings on Saturday afternoon at John Euliano Park.
The Knights fell to 4-5 overall with the pair of setbacks while the Bulls improved to 9-2 with the victories. The Black and Gold will look to salvage a game on the weekend in the series finale on Sunday afternoon.
“I was pleased with how Matt Sauser came out pitched for us in game two. It started with how freshman Max Murray pitched in his first outing at the end of the first game and carried over to Sauser’s outing. Matt Sauser was dominant,” head UCF coach Rich Wallace said. “But the quality and consistency of our at-bats weren’t good enough to get the job done today.”
Game 1
The Bulls opened game one of the doubleheader by delivering the first score with a two-run home run to right field off the bat of Nathan Earley in the top of the first. The Knights responded in the second with a Jordan Lodise fielder’s choice, followed by a Braden Calise RBI single to knot up the score at 2-2 entering the third inning.
USF later responded, however, with a run in the third to regain the lead. The Bulls followed that up with three runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth to take a 9-2 lead heading into the seventh frame.
UCF looked to rally late by loading the bases in the bottom of the ninth, but USF’s Kaden Smith managed to pitch out of it to complete the victory for South Florida.
Despite the setback, freshman Max Murray was solid in relief for the Black and Gold in his first collegiate appearance on the mound. Murray posted four strikeouts and allowed just two hits and no walks to hold the Bulls scoreless in the final three innings. John Smith III led the Knights offensively in the contest by going 2-for-2 off the bench with a pair of singles.
USF’s Edwin Alicea earned the win on the mound to move to 2-0 on the season while UCF’s Braden Smith was tagged with his first loss to drop to 1-1.
Game 2
Deadlocked in a pitcher’s duel in the nightcap, the reigning Big 12 Pitcher of the Week Matt Sauser continued right where he left off in his outing at Miami on Feb. 17 by retiring the Bulls first seven hitters of the game. After giving up his first hit of the season in the third, Sauser responded by pitching out of a little bit of trouble in the third and fourth innings to keep the game scoreless.
The UCF right-hander then retired South Florida in order in the fifth and pitched around a hit in the sixth and another in the seventh to get through a season-high 7.0 innings of work. Over his seven scoreless frames, Sauser allowed just five hits while striking out five. He also didn’t walk a batter on the night.
Sauser's through 5 scoreless innings! pic.twitter.com/3TZnno5NLs
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) February 28, 2026
USF starter Michael Senay matched Sauser’s efforts, however, as he too tossed 7.0 shutout frames in the game.
With the game scoreless through seven innings of play, UCF reliever Evan Jones entered and pitched out of a jam for the Knights to keep it 0-0 heading into the last of the eighth. The Knights then rallied in the bottom of the eighth to score the first run of the contest. With two on and two out, Smith III had the big hit for the Black and Gold with an RBI single right field to bring home Stephen Chucka and give UCF a late 1-0 lead.
John Smith III with an RBI single to give us the lead🔥 pic.twitter.com/nXH4hrKcTO
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) March 1, 2026
South Florida managed to respond, however, with a run of its own in the top of the ninth after back-to-back hits to start the inning. Eli Thomas had the big hit with an RBI double. Jones responded on the mound by getting three quick outs to send it to the last of the ninth.
After a scoreless bottom of the ninth, the game headed to extra innings. USF then got a leadoff double from Jevin Relaford in the 10th and Bradke Lohry came through with a two-out RBI single later in the frame to give the Bulls the lead.
Landon O’Donnell then came on for South Florida in the last of the 10th and sealed the contest en route to earning his third save of the season.
Despite the stellar outing on the mound, Sauser took a no-decision on the day. Ethan Sutton earned the win in relief for USF to move to 1-1 while Jones was tagged with his first loss to drop to 1-1.
Smith III led the Knights again in game two by going 2-for-4 with an RBI.
On Deck
The Knights and Bulls will close the series on Sunday at 1 p.m. at John Euliano Park. The game will mark Bark at the Park for UCF. Sunday’s contest will air live on ESPN+ as well as on the radio at FM 96.9 The Game. Following Sunday’s ballgame, UCF will continue a current 12-game homestand by hosting FGCU on Wednesday, March 4 at 6 p.m. followed by welcoming 2025 College World Series participant Murray State to town for a three-game series next weekend.