ORLANDO – Camden Wicker tossed 7.0 dominant innings, and UCF won it in extras thanks to a pinch-hit walk-off RBI single from Stephen Chucka in the 13th inning to propel the Knights to a 3-2 victory to sweep the defending Big 12 tournament champion Arizona Wildcats on Sunday at John Euliano Park.
After Arizona took a 2-1 advantage in the top of the eighth inning, the Black and Gold tied things up in the bottom of the frame on a two-out RBI single from Cayden Gaskin. Following five scoreless innings from the UCF bullpen, the Knights then rallied in the 13th as Gaskin doubled and John Smith III was intentionally walked with two away. The Knights then called upon the freshman Stephen Chucka and after a lengthy at-bat, the Oviedo native pulled a sharp single through the ride side of the infield and Gaskin came around to score the winning run for UCF’s fourth Sunday walk-off win over the past five weeks.
Stephen Chucka secures the walk off win and series sweep against the Wildcats💥@Kia Electric Moment of the Game⚡️ pic.twitter.com/kRezQfeUAI
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) March 29, 2026
The Knights improved to 18-8 overall with the sweep and remain in sole possession of first place in the Big 12 standings with an 8-1 league clip. The sweep marked UCF’s second in Big 12 play and fourth of the season. The 8-1 conference record marks the Black and Gold’s best start to conference play since 2014 when it too began the conference season at 8-1. The Wildcats, who made it to Omaha last season, dropped to 9-18 and 2-7 in league play with the setback.
“(Stephen) Chucka’s a really good hitter. He’s a guy that is involved in everything even when he’s not in the game,” head UCF coach Rich Wallace said. “He was ready to go and that was a heck of an at-bat for him. He was down two strikes and fouled a bunch of balls off—and delivered at the end.”
Smith III got the Knights off to a quick start offensively by pulling out his third home run of the series with a line drive shot to left field to put the Black and Gold up 1-0 with a solo shot in the first inning. The homer not only marked his third of the weekend but his fifth of the season with all five coming in the past 12 days.
John Smith III with his 3rd round tripper of the series🔥 pic.twitter.com/fyVmAbVvyr
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) March 29, 2026
Deadlocked in a pitcher’s duel on the day, Black and Gold starter Wicker looked strong on the mound, as he tied a career-long with 7.0 solid innings of work. He took a no-hitter into the fourth inning and allowed just one hit into the seventh inning. He faced the minimum in six of his first seven innings of work and allowed just one base runner to reach off of him until the seventh. Arizona starter Luc Fladda matched Wicker by responding after giving up the first-inning home run by putting up zeros on the scoreboard over the next six innings.
With UCF holding to a the 1-0 lead into the eighth inning, the Wildcats got back-to-back hits to put runners on the corners with nobody out. With the bases loaded and one away, Arizona tied things up on a sac fly and took a 2-1 lead on a wild pitch. UCF reliever Evan Jones then stranded a runner on third base by getting an inning-ending strikeout.
The Knights then responded in the bottom of the eighth as DeAmez Ross led things off with an infield single. Jordan Lodise then bunted him into scoring position and Gaskin brought him home with a two-out RBI single to deadlock the score.
Gaskin ties it up with a clutch RBI single 😤 pic.twitter.com/zYix583JsF
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) March 29, 2026
With UCF’s Jones and Arizona Garrett Hicks putting up zeros in relief on the scoreboard, the game then headed into extra innings. Jones ended up going a career-high 4.0 innings of work and struck out four while walking just one keep the game all tied up after 11 innings of play.
The Wildcats then got two men aboard with one out in the top of the 12th, but on entered UCF right-hander Max Murray from the bullpen and the freshman induced a 6-4-3 double play on the first pitch he delivered to keep it tied and send things to the last of the 12th.
After the Knights left a runner on base in the bottom of the 12th, Murray continued to pitch well in relief as he retired three of the four batters he faced in the 13th to set the table for his offense in the bottom half of the frame. With one out and nobody on, the senior Gaskin hit a double into the leftfield corner to get into scoring position. Following a strike out and an intentional walk, the freshman Chucka then stepped to the plate in a pinch-hit role. After fouling off a number of pitches, the hometown hero delivered with a walk-off RBI single through the right side of the infield to score Gaskin.
Gaskin led the way offensively by going 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Smith III was next by going 1-for-5 with a solo home run while Chucka finished 1-for-1 with the game-winning RBI.
Despite the strong start, Wicker took a no decision after tying a career-high with 7.0 innings and allowing just two runs on three hits while striking out five and not walking a batter. Jones then tossed a career-long 4.0 scoreless innings and Murray earned the win in relief to move to 2-1 on the year after tossing 1.2 innings of scoreless baseball. Arizona’s Collin McKinney was tagged with the loss to drop to 0-5 on the year.
With the sweep, the Knights have now won nine of their last 11 games and 14 of their last 17.
Arizona marked UCF’s seventh consecutive opponent that played in the NCAA Tournament a season ago and their third and final that made the College World Series last season. With the sweep, the Black and Gold swept both 2025 Men’s College World Series participants Arizona and Murray State.
On Deck
UCF will now hit the road for a four-game road trip. The Black and Gold will first head to Happy Valley to face Big Ten foe Penn State on Wednesday night, before heading to Morgantown for a key Big 12 series at second place and 15th-ranked West Virginia next weekend.