FORT WORTH, Texas – Camden Wicker tossed 6.2 scoreless innings and the UCF offense tallied 17 hits on the day en route to defeating TCU 9-1 on Sunday afternoon at Lupton Stadium.
UCF claimed the Big 12 series with the victory to improve to 15-7 overall and 5-1 in Big 12 play. The Knights have now won six of their last seven games as well as 11 out of their last 13. The preseason favorite Horned Frogs dropped to 13-10 overall and 2-4 in league play.
The junior right-hander Wicker, senior RHP Michael Gillen and redshirt junior righty Evan Jones combined to allow just three hits and one run on the afternoon. The trio struck out a combined five batters and allowed just eight baserunners on the day.
What an outing for RHP Camden Wicker with 6.2 scoreless frames 🔥 pic.twitter.com/4s5DtIuCm7
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) March 22, 2026
“The offense delivered when we had to. It was also nice to see some extra-base hits when we needed them. But the story of the day was Cam Wicker,” head UCF coach Rich Wallace said. “He was truly dominant, especially when we needed someone to give us some length. He did exactly that. That’s a really good lineup and he held them in check all day.”
A day removed from being shut out, the Black and Gold offense didn’t waste any time getting things going with a trio of runs in the first inning. Following an Andrew Williamson walk and a John Smith III single, Zak Skinner drove home Williamson with an RBI double off the wall in right center. Javier Crespo immediately followed with a two-run double of his own to deep center field to give the Knights an early 3-0 lead.
Skinner gets us going with an RBI double❗ pic.twitter.com/jUk0juN2FF
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) March 22, 2026
With UCF starter Wicker having sat down the Horned Frogs in order with a pair of punchouts in the bottom of the second, the Black and Gold offense put up four straight hits in the top of the third to extend their lead to 5-0. DeAmez Ross started the rally with a leadoff double. Williamson then drove him home with an RBI single to right field. After a Smith III single, Skinner then plated Williamson with an RBI single up the middle.
With Wicker putting up zeros on the scoreboard and the UCF defense making some nice plays behind him, the Knights then tacked on a run in the fourth inning. Jordan Lodise hit a one-out double down the leftfield line and Cayden Gaskin followed with an RBI single through the left side of the infield to make it 6-0.
Despite allowing his first hit of the afternoon in the sixth inning, Wicker responded by retiring the next three batters he faced to send it to the seventh.
Smith III rocketed out a solo home run to deep left center in the top of the seventh to extend UCF’s lead to 7-0. His round tripper traveled 417 feet and marked his second of the season. Skinner later singled and came around to score on a Crespo single and a TCU defensive miscue. The Knights capped the two-out rally in the inning with an RBI double off the bat of Landon Moran to make it 9-0.
John Smith III launches a solo shot out to left (417 ft) 🚀 pic.twitter.com/hXYXcV5GLq
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) March 22, 2026
Wicker then returned to the mound and got two more outs in the seventh before walking a pair of batters. With Gillen on the mound in relief, the senior reliever got Rob Liddington to ground out to end the threat.
The Horned Frogs picked up their lone run of the game in the last of the eighth on a solo home run off the bat of Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year Sawyer Strosnider to make it 9-1.
But the Knights completed the victory in the ninth, as Jones entered with a man in scoring position and drew a game-ending groundout.
Wicker went a season-high 6.2 innings and allowed just one hit and no runs while tying a season-high with four strikeouts to earn the win and move to 1-1 on the season. Gillen then tossed 2.0 innings of solid relief and Jones retired the lone batter he faced. TCU starter Trevor Baumler was tagged with the loss to drop to 0-1.
The senior catcher Skinner had a career day at the plate by going a perfect 5-for-5 with a double, two runs scored and two runs batted in. Smith III was next by going 3-for-5 with a homer, two runs scored and an RBI, while Crespo and Lodise had two hits apiece. In all, nine different Knights recorded hits on the day as the team tallied 17 hits on the afternoon.
The series victory marked UCF’s second consecutive Big 12 series win. It marked the first time the Black and Gold have claimed back-to-back conference series since 2024.
“Anytime you can go on the road and get a game you feel pretty good about it. But it’s another thing to go on the road and win a series. I think we’ve won both of our last two Texas series, so if we continue to do that than we’ll be OK,” Wallace added.
On Deck
The Knights will now return to the Sunshine State to face Stetson for the first of three midweek meetings on the season on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in DeLand. Following Tuesday’s midweek, UCF will host the defending Big 12 Tournament champion Arizona Wildcats at John Euliano Park next Friday to Sunday (March 27-29).