ORLANDO – The UCF Baseball team overcame and early 6-0 deficit and managed to hold on late as senior Kris Sosnowski closed things out in the last of the ninth to propel the Knights to a wild 12-11 victory over Oklahoma State in the Big 12 opener on Friday night at John Euliano Park.
The Black and Gold scored 11 runs over the middle innings with four in the fourth and seven in the fifth to take an 11-6 lead. The Cowboys made things interesting late with four runs in the seventh, but UCF picked up an insurance run in the eighth to make it 12-10. The Pokes then scored a run in the ninth and had the tying and go-ahead runners on the base paths with one out, but Sosnowski came on and retired the first two batters he faced—which included a game-ending strikeout to seal the victory.
The Knights improved to 10-6 overall and 1-0 in Big 12 play with the victory, while OSU dropped to 12-5 and 0-1 in league play with the setback. The series will continue with game two on Saturday at 6 p.m.
“It was 6-0 there pretty quick, but our relievers did a nice job of stopping it right there. The offense was then able to put together some nice at-bats in that situation against a quality arm. I couldn’t be more proud of the offense,” head UCF coach Rich Wallace said.
Down 6-0 in the fourth inning, Andrew Williamson jumpstarted the comeback with his second home run in as many games with a solo homer to the opposite field to make it 6-1. Following a John Smith III double, Zak Skinner then drove him home with an RBI single. With the bases later loaded and two outs in the frame, Austin Jacobs plated two runs with a two-run single to left field to make it a 6-4 score.
Williamson homers for the second straight game 👊 pic.twitter.com/M3YhxWB5FE
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) March 13, 2026
With Mateo Gray on in relief for the Knights and putting up zeros on the scoreboard, the Black and Gold offense erupted for seven more runs in the fifth inning to take an 11-6 lead. After UCF worked a trio of free passes on the base paths, Landon Moran tied things up with a two-run single up the middle. DeAmez Ross then followed a Jordan Lodise walk with an RBI groundout to the right side of the infield to give the Knights a 7-6 advantage. Jacobs then promptly followed with his second two-run single of the ballgame with a sharp single into left field to make it 9-6. After James Hankerson Jr. reached on an error, Williamson capped the big inning with a two-run single of his own through the right side of the infield to give the Black and Gold a five-run advantage.
Jacobs extends the lead with a 2-run single 🙌 pic.twitter.com/P75S4mphwP
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) March 14, 2026
After a scoreless sixth inning, the Cowboys responded in the top of the seventh with four runs to make it a one-run game at 11-10. Alex Conover had an RBI single, and Brock Thompson followed with an RBI fielder’s choice. Kollin Ritchie then capped the inning with a two-run home run to right center for his 12th round tripper of the season. UCF’s Evan Jones limited the damage with an inning-ending strikeout and carried that momentum over into the eighth by striking out the Cowboys in order.
UCF then loaded the bases in the last of the eighth and Moran delivered what proved to be the winning run with a sacrifice fly to right field to extend the Black and Gold’s lead to 12-10.
OK State made things interesting in the ninth with a leadoff solo homer from TP Wentworth to again make it a one-run game. Jones responded by recording his fifth strikeout of the game to tie a season high. But OSU followed by working back-to-back walks to get the tying and go-ahead runners on the base paths. With one out the Knights then called upon Sosnowski from the bullpen and the senior captain quickly got Ritchie to foul out to third base and followed by striking out Aidan Meola to end the ballgame.
Captain @KristopherSosn1 shuts the door‼️@Kia Electric Moment of the Game pic.twitter.com/RITeRmBA5S
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) March 14, 2026
Gray earned the win in relief by going 2.1 innings and striking out three to move to 2-0 on the season. Sosnowski earned his first save of the season after shutting the door on the Pokes in the ninth. OSU’s Bennan Phillips was tagged with the loss to drop to 1-1.
Smith III led UCF offensively by going 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored, while Jacobs put up a game-high four runs batted in by going 2-for-4 with a pair of two-run singles and run scored. Williamson also had another solid outing as he went 2-for-4 with a homer, three RBIs and two runs scored. Moran also drove in three runs with a 1-for-2 outing with a walk and a run scored. Ritchie led the way for Oklahoma State by plating a trio of runs and scoring three more.
The contest marked UCF’s ninth game of a current 12-game homestand. The Knights are currently 6-3 during the homestand.
On Deck
The Knights and Cowboys will continue the opening conference series with game two on Saturday at 6 p.m. UCF and OSU will then close the series on Sunday at noon. Following Sunday's finale, the Black and Gold will conclude a 12-game homestand by hosting Columbia in midweek action on Tuesday, March 17 at 6 p.m.