ORLANDO – A trio of pitchers combined to limit Oklahoma State’s prolific offense to just one run on two hits en route to leading UCF to a 6-1 victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday evening at John Euliano Park.
Black and Gold starter Matt Sauser continued his strong 2026 campaign by surrendering just one run on two hits over 6.1 innings of work. After allowing a first-inning run, Sauser settled down and retired 11 batters in a row during one stretch, which included retiring the side in order in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. Matthew Heyl and Michael Gillen then combined for the final 2.2 innings of scoreless and hitless relief to lock up the victory.
The Knights secured the Big 12 Conference-opening series in the process and improved to 11-6 overall and 2-0 in conference play. The Cowboys dropped to 12-6 on the season and 0-2 in league play with the setback. The Black and Gold will go for the series sweep on Sunday at 11 a.m. ET at John Euliano Park.
“That was an excellent baseball game. When we describe UCF baseball, that’s what this game pretty much was. We executed on offense, had some tough at-bats, it wasn’t easy, but we found some ways to score runs,” head UCF coach Rich Wallace said. “Matt Sauser was also outstanding. The defense was outstanding. And Matty Heyl and Gillen out of the bullpen had really good stuff.”
The Pokes struck first with a pair of doubles in the top of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. After Sauser responded by retiring three of the four hitters he faced in the top of the second, the UCF offense tied things up as the Knights loaded the bases with two outs and Javier Crespo came in to score on a wild pitch to make it 1-1.
After Sauser pitched around a pair of hit batters in the third and retired the Cowboys in order in the fourth, Landon Moran led things off for the Black and Gold in the bottom of the fourth with a double. He later scored on a DeAmez Ross sacrifice fly to give the Knights a 2-1 advantage.
With Sauser looking strong on the mound in the fifth, the Black and Gold tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the inning to add to their lead. With the bases loaded and one away, James Hankerson Jr. was hit by a pitch to drive in John Smith III. Ross then followed by plating Crespo with an RBI fielder’s choice and Jordan Lodise capped the scoring in the inning with an RBI single to the right side to bring home Moran.
With UCF having gone to the bullpen with a runner aboard and one out in the seventh, southpaw Matthew Heyl got two-time All-Big 12 Conference performer Colin Brueggemann to ground into an inning-ending double play to end the threat.
That double play 😮💨👌@Kia Electric Moment of the Game pic.twitter.com/m0kCIq8ehx
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) March 15, 2026
Heyl then pitched around a two-out walk in the top of the eighth and the Black and Gold offense added an insurance run in the bottom of the inning on a two-out RBI single from Zak Skinner to extend UCF’s lead to 6-1.
Skinner plates Lodise with an RBI single🌟 pic.twitter.com/ttAWwKW8iI
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) March 15, 2026
The Knights then went to senior Michael Gillen in the ninth and the right-hander promptly retired the Pokes in order with a pair of strikeouts to end the ballgame.
Sauser earned his second win of the season to move to 2-0 on the year. The junior right-hander allowed just one run on two hits while striking out four and walking two over 6.1 innings. The run he surrendered in the first inning marked his first of the season and ended his impressive streak at 19.1 innings without allowing a run. Heyl then tossed a season-long 1.2 innings of scoreless and hitless relief with a punchout, while Gillen finished things off by retiring all three batters he faced in the ninth with two strikeouts. OSU starter Mario Pesca was tagged with the loss to drop to 1-2 on the year.
Sauser retires the Cowboys in order for the 3rd straight inning 💪 pic.twitter.com/6930KaUlit
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) March 14, 2026
Moran led the Knights offensively by going 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. Lodise was next with a perfect 2-for-2 showing with an RBI, a run scored and a pair of walks, while Skinner too had multiple hits by going 2-for-5 with an RBI.
What a play by Moran🤩 pic.twitter.com/OeOlIFmutn
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) March 14, 2026
The ballgame marked UCF’s 10th game of a current 12-game homestand.
On Deck
With impending inclement weather in the afternoon on Sunday, the Knights and Cowboys will now close the opening Big 12 series on Sunday at 11 a.m. Following Sunday’s series finale, UCF will close a 12-game homestand by welcoming Columbia to town for a midweek contest on Tuesday, March 17 at 6 p.m.