ORLANDO – Having won five straight games, the UCF baseball team will welcome No. 19 Arizona State to town this weekend for a battle between two of the top three teams in the Big 12 Conference standings.
The key three-game league series will run Friday to Sunday at John Euliano Park. Game times are scheduled for 6 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday, as well as 1 p.m. on Sunday. All three games will air live on ESPN+ as well as on the radio. Friday’s series opener will air on Fox Sports 810 AM Orlando, while Saturday and Sunday are scheduled to air on FM 96.9 The Game. Live stats can also be followed by visiting UCF.StatBroadcast.com.
With just three conference series remaining, the Knights and Sun Devils will enter the weekend currently tied for second place in the Big 12 standings with identical 14-7 records. Overall, the Black and Gold currently hold a 26-15 overall record and having won five consecutive games with a sweep at Utah last weekend as well as midweek victories over in-state foes Bethune-Cookman and Stetson.
In the Knights’ most recent game on Wednesday night as part of the Tigertown Collegiate Classic at Tigertown, USA, in Lakeland, UCF scored a trio of runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to earn a 6-5 come-from-behind victory over the Hatters. Senior catcher Zak Skinner was the hero by going 3-for-5 with three extra-base hits, three runs batted in, and the go-ahead two-run double in the eighth inning.
With the bases loaded and one away in the eighth trailing 5-3, John Smith III drove in a run with an RBI fielder’s choice to make it a 5-4 score. With runners on the corners and two outs in the frame, Skinner then delivered in the clutch by pulling a two-strike pitch into the left field corner to score both Jordan Lodise and Smith III to put the Knights on top.
Evan Jones then entered on the mound in the ninth and pitched around a two-out hit to earn the save.
Reliever Anthony Lariz pitched a scoreless eighth inning en route to moving to 4-0 on the season, while Jones recorded his third save.
Offensively, Skinner recorded three hits, a pair of doubles and a triple, with a run scored and a game-high three RBIs. Javier Crespo also had a three-hit game by going 3-for-5 with two doubles and two runs batted in. Lodise and Austin Jacobs also had multiple-hit performances by each going 2-for-4.
UCF had a dominant weekend in Salt Lake City last weekend by outscoring the Utes a combined 34-6 as well as outhitting Utah 40-18 with seven home runs. The Knights claimed the games by scores of 12-2, 12-4 and 10-0. As a team, UCF posted a .381 batting average for the series and JD Rogers and Smith III each recorded two-home run games.
In Friday’s series opener, senior outfielder Rogers had a career-day by going a perfect 4-for-4 with two home runs and seven RBIs. Rogers started his stellar game with a solo home run in the second inning. He later doubled home a run in the fifth, blasted out a grand slam to deep center field in the seventh, and capped his big day with an RBI single in the eighth. The two-home run game marked his second of the season and five home runs in a four-game span.
Then in a Saturday doubleheader, UCF earned a 12-4 come-from-behind win in the first game of the twin bill with a run in the sixth, three in the seventh, and seven in the eighth inning to secure the series. The catcher Skinner led the way by going 4-for-5 at the plate with a game-high four RBIs, a home run, and two runs scored. Smith III was next by homering twice on his way to a 2-for-5 outing with three runs scored and three RBIs. Landon Moran also had a multi-hit game by going 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. In all, UCF tallied 13 hits in the game with seven of those being for extra bases.
Then in Saturday’s nightcap, Camden Wicker went the distance en route to tossing a seven-inning complete-game shutout for the first complete game of his career. Wicker allowed just two hits and no runs while striking out four and walking two. He allowed just four baserunners to reach in the contest.
Smith III led the Black and Gold in the series finale by going 3-for-4 with a first-inning home run, four RBIs and two runs scored. Crespo was next by going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a runs scored. Skinner, Moran and Ross each also finished with two hits apiece.
For the series, Skinner led the way by batting a stellar .692 (9-for-13) with a homer, a double, five RBIs and six runs scored. Moran followed by batting an even .500 while Crespo hit .417 and Smith III tallied a .385 average with three home runs, two doubles and eight RBIs. Wicker led the way from the mound by tossing the seven-inning complete-game shutout, while Kris Sosnowski, Kevin Schoneboom and Lariz all tossed scoreless outings in relief.
Season Leaders
The catcher Skinner leads UCF on the season with a .376 batting average and 56 hits. He is also tied for second on the team in RBIs with 33 and second in on-base percentage with a .457 clip. Outfielder Smith III is next with a .341 average. He also leads the way in RBIs with 41 and is tied for the team lead in home runs with 10. Fellow outfielder Andrew Williamson follows with a .327 average and is tops on the team with 45 runs scored, four triples and tied for the team lead in homers (10) and RBIs (33). The starter Wicker leads the way on the mound with a 3.50 ERA to go along with 48 strikeouts in 54.0 innings of work. Fellow starter Mateo Gray tops the team in wins with an unblemished 5-0 clip. A trio of right-handed relievers lead the way from the bullpen in Schoneboom (2.12 ERA, 1 SV), Sosnowski (2.16 ERA, 4 SV), and Jones (3.18 ERA, 3 SV).
Wicker Tabbed Big 12 Pitcher of the Week
Junior right-hander Camden Wicker was named the Big 12 Co-Pitcher of the Week on Monday after tossing the seven-inning complete-game shutout last Saturday at Utah. Wicker tied a career-long by tossing 7.0 dominant innings in which he allowed just two hits and no runs while striking out five and walking just two. He allowed just four baserunners to reach in the contest and faced the minimum in three of his seven innings of work.
About Arizona State
The Sun Devils will come to Orlando for the first time with a 31-14 overall record and tied with UCF for second place in conference play with a 14-7 clip. ASU has won five of its last six games after sweeping Baylor at home last weekend as well as taking two of three at BYU in Provo the previous week. Arizona State also holds Big 12 series victories over TCU, Kansas State, Arizona and Utah. ASU is currently ranked 19th this week by D1Baseball.
The Sun Devils were picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 this season after tying for fourth in their first season in the league last year with an 18-12 conference record. ASU capped its 2025 campaign with an appearance at the Los Angeles Regional a 36-24 overall record.
Landon Hairston, one of the top hitters in the nation, paces ASU with a .436 batting average, 25 home runs, 18 doubles, 67 runs scored and 73 RBIs. He also holds a stellar 1.512 OPS. Hairston leads the nation in runs scored (67), slugging (.978) and total bases (175), and is second in the country in hits (78), home runs (25) and RBIs (73). Nu’u Contrades is next with a .370 average, 14 doubles, 13 home runs, 32 runs scored and 44 RBIs. Dean Toigo is also batting .326 and is second in home runs (16), runs scored (46) and RBIs (45). Southpaw Cole Carlon tops the starting rotation with a 3.57 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 58.0 innings. Righty Kole Klecker paces in wins with a 5-2 clip, while Derek Schaeffer is one of the top arms from the bullpen with a team-best seven saves and a 4.88 ERA.
Arizona State is coached by Willie Bloomquist. Bloomquist played in the Big Leagues for 14 seasons and is now in his fifth year at the helm of the Sun Devils.
All-Time Series vs. ASU
Friday’s series opener will mark the first all-time meeting between the Knights and Sun Devils on the baseball diamond.
Ranked Knights
By entering the top 25 on March 30, the Knights have now been ranked in each of head coach Rich Wallace’s three seasons at the helm of UCF baseball. In his first year in 2024, Wallace helped the Black and Gold spend two weeks in the national rankings in early April and ranked as high as No. 17 by D1Baseball and 16th by the NCBWA. Last season, the Knights spent a week ranked 25th by Perfect Game in mid-March. UCF is 8-14 when ranked in the Rich Wallace era.
After entering the D1Baseball rankings at No. 23 on March 30, the Knights moved up 11 spots to No. 12 the following week in the D1Baseball rankings. After being ranked No. 21 two weeks ago, the Knights are currently just outside of the top 25 this week and receiving votes for both the USA TODAY Coaches and NCBWA polls. UCF claimed its first ranked vs. ranked series at WVU since May 18-20, 2017, with No. 29 UCF took two of three from No. 23 South Florida in American Conference action. It also marked the Black and Gold’s first series victory over a ranked foe since April 17-19, 2025, when it took two of three from No. 15 TCU at John Euliano Park.
Williamson Tabbed Perfect Game National Player of the Week
After his big series at WVU April 3-5, junior outfielder Andrew Williamson was named the Perfect Game College Baseball National Player of the Week. Williamson helped lead the Knights to a big series win at No. 11 WVU by hitting .600 for the series with three home runs, a double, six runs scored and three RBIs. He also drew five walks and posted a stellar 2.333 OPS with a 1.600 slugging percentage and a .733 on-base clip.
He posted his first two-homer game since his freshman season by going 3-for-4 with three runs scored a pair of home runs in a 5-0 victory on Friday. After going 1-for-3 with three walks and a run scored on Saturday, he capped the impressive weekend by going 2-for-3 with a home run, two walks and two runs scored in a 5-1 victory on Sunday to help the Black and Gold capture the pivotal conference series.
Cardiac Knights
With Sunday, March 29’s walk-off win over Arizona, the Knights pulled out four walk-off victories all on Sundays over a five-week span. The Knights started the stretch with a 2-1 walk-off win over in-state foe South Florida in the series finale on March 1. With the game all deadlocked at 2-1 heading into the last of the ninth, UCF quickly loaded the bases with nobody out. Zak Skinner then worked a full count with the bases loaded and came through with a sharp single through the right side of the infield to give the Knights the walk-off 2-1 victory.
Trailing 9-4 entering the bottom of the ninth against Murray State on Sunday March 8, the Knights put together a last-inning rally for the ages by scoring six runs to record their second walk-off win of the streak. UCF again quickly loaded the bases with nobody out. Javier Crespo started the scoring with an RBI single, and John Smith III came in to score on a wild pitch. James Hankerson Jr. then made it a 9-8 score with a two-run pinch hit single and Jordan Lodise evened the score with a safety squeeze. After a sac bunt moved the winning run to third base with only one out, Cayden Gaskin delivered a walk-off pinch-hit RBI single to left center to complete the epic comeback.
UCF kept the Sunday walk-off streak alive with by pulling out a 6-5 walk-off win over Oklahoma State on Sunday, March 15, to record its first Big 12 series sweep since joining the conference prior to the 2024 season. After OK State tied things up in the top of the ninth, the Black and Gold offense didn’t waste any time rallying as Landon Moran quickly reached with a sharp leadoff single into right field. DeAmez Ross then dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move him into scoring position and James Hankerson Jr. plated Moran with a walk-off RBI single through the right side of the infield on the first pitch of the at-bat.
The Knights then pulled out their fourth Sunday walk-off win on Sunday, March 29, with a 3-2 13-inning victory. All tied at 2-2 since the eighth inning, Cayden Gaskin doubled into the leftfield corner with one away. Following an intentional walk to John Smith III, the Knights then called upon freshman Stephen Chucka to pinch hit. The hometown kid delivered the game-winning hit with a walk-off RBI single through the right side of the infield to bring in Gaskin and complete the sweep over the 2025 College World Series Wildcats.
On Deck
The Black and Gold will hit the road for four games next week. UCF will first head to Boca Raton to face Florida Atlantic in midweek action on Tuesday, May 5 before heading to Waco, Texas, for a three-game league series at Baylor next weekend. The Baylor series will run Friday to Sunday, May 8-10.
