ORLANDO – The No. 21 UCF baseball team dropped an extra-inning contest to in-state foe Jacksonville, 5-4, on Tuesday night at John Euliano Park.
The Dolphins managed to tie it in the eighth and win it in the 11th to claim the midweek contest.
The Knights dropped to 20-13 overall on the season with the setback while JU improved to 18-18 with the win.
“There were a lot of good things that happened for us in this one, as our pitching staff did enough to get the job done. We just needed to capitalize more offensively,” head UCF coach Rich Wallace said. “We can’t leave an army of guys on base. At some point and time, we need to stand up there and have our best at-bat with guys in scoring position and deliver. But we haven’t done that for the last four games,” head UCF coach Rich Wallace said.
With JU up a run following a first-inning home run from Derek Bermudez, the Knights answered in the second inning with a pair of runs to take a 2-1 lead. Jordan Lodise plated UCF’s first run with an RBI double to left field and Cayden Gaskin followed with an RBI single to give the Knights the early advantage.
Lodise puts us on the board with an RBI double 🫡 pic.twitter.com/dxENxVDnmV
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) April 14, 2026
With senior starter Roman Kimball having settled down on the mound, the Black and Gold tacked on another run in the third to make it 3-1. UCF loaded the bases in the frame, as Zak Skinner singled, and DeAmez Ross and Lodise each walked. Skinner then came in to score on a passed ball to add to the Black and Gold’s lead.
The Dolphins then picked up a run in the fourth thanks to a two-out RBI hit from Conner Spelman to pull within a run at 3-2.
The bullpens did a nice job from there, as both sides put up zeros into the eighth inning. With the Knights still holding to the 3-2 advantage, JU’s Sam Grunberg hit out a two-out solo home run in the top of the eighth inning to deadlock the score.
UCF closer Evan Jones then came on and tossed a scoreless ninth. The Knights were then held off the board in the bottom of the frame to send it to extra innings. JU then picked up a two-out RBI single from Grunberg in the top of the 10th to take a 4-3 lead. But UCF responded with a two-out RBI single of its own from Gaskin in the last of the 10th to tie the score at 4-4 and force an 11th frame.
Gaskin ties it with a clutch 2-out RBI single 🤩 pic.twitter.com/UHLoG1G5wM
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) April 15, 2026
The Dolphins got the leadoff man aboard in the 11th inning via a walk. With a runner on second base and two outs, JU managed to record another two-out RBI hit, this time from Roger Vergara, to take a 5-4 advantage. The Knights then picked up a big two-out double from senior Braden Calise in the last of the 11th to put the tying run in scoring position, but JU’s Ayden Phillips managed to pitch out of it with a flyout to end the ballgame.
Phillips earned the win in relief for JU to move to 3-0 on the season while UCF reliever Kevin Schoneboom was tagged with his first loss of the season to drop to 1-1. On just two days rest after his longest relief appearance of the season at Kansas last Saturday (3.0 innings), UCF senior Kimball gave the Knights four solid innings of work in his first start in a Black and Gold uniform to tie a career-long in innings pitched.
Gaskin led the Knights offensively by going 2-for-6 with two runs batted in, while Javier Crespo went 2-for-4 with a walk. Andrew Williamson worked a UCF season-high four walks in the contest. Grunberg led JU with a 3-for-5 outing with two RBIs and two runs scored.
The contest marked the first of a four-game homestand for the Knights. It also marked UCF’s first home game since March 29, as it had played six straight games away from home prior to Tuesday.
On Deck
The second place Knights (10-5 Big 12) will continue the homestand by welcoming Cincinnati to town for a three-game Big 12 series Friday to Sunday. Games are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, as well as noon on Sunday. The series will mark UCF’s lone home series of the month of April.