Williamson Homers Twice, Bullpen Shines to Lead No. 23 UCF to 5-0 Victory over No. 11 WVUWilliamson Homers Twice, Bullpen Shines to Lead No. 23 UCF to 5-0 Victory over No. 11 WVU
Taylin Long

Williamson Homers Twice, Bullpen Shines to Lead No. 23 UCF to 5-0 Victory over No. 11 WVU

by James Warnick
Box Score

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Andrew Williamson hit out two home runs and the bullpen tossed eight scoreless innings to lead No. 23 UCF to a 5-0 shutout victory over No. 11 West Virginia in the series opener on Friday night in front of a standing-room-only crowd of 3,850 fans at Kendrick Family Ballpark.

With Black and Gold starter Braden Smith having exited the ballgame due to injury after the first inning of play, the bullpen combined to allow just two hits and no runs over eight impressive innings to help record the shutout. Freshman Max Murray (3-1) earned the win after tying a season-high with 3.0 shutout frames while Kevin Schoneboom followed by tossing 1.1 scoreless innings, Kris Sosnowski 2.2, and Evan Jones closed things out by tossing a clean ninth inning.

The Knights improved to 19-8 overall and remain alone atop the Big 12 standings with a 9-1 conference clip. The 9-1 start to conference play marks UCF’s best start to conference play through 10 games in program history. The win also marked the Black and Gold’s 10th in their last 12 games and their 15th out of their last 18. WVU dropped to 20-6 overall and 7-3 in league play with the setback.

“It started with Braden (Smith) and what he said out there after he got hit—and how all he wanted to do was come back in the game,” UCF assistant coach Drew Thomas said. “It was unbelievable to hear that from someone in his condition. We talked to the dugout, and they manned up and honored that. I couldn’t be prouder of the team.”

Just minutes after Braden Smith exited the game, the Knight offense picked up a run in top of the second inning to take an early 1-0 lead. Javier Crespo reached base with a one-out single and senior DeAmez Ross drove him home with a two-out RBI single to center field to give the Knights the early advantage.

The Knights then made it 2-0 in the top of the third inning thanks to a two-out solo home run to straight away center field off the bat of Williamson. The homer traveled 409 feet and was clocked at 108 MPH off the bat.

After freshman reliever Max Murray escaped a jam with an inning-ending strikeout to strand a pair of runners in the bottom of the third, the Black and Gold added another run in the fourth to make it 3-0. Zak Skinner led things off with a walk and Landon Moran followed with a one-out single. Ross then drove in his second run of the game with an RBI single to the opposite field to plate Skinner on a 3-2 count.

The Knights added a run for the fourth consecutive inning in the fifth thanks to an RBI double off the bat of John Smith III. Williamson started the rally in the frame with a one-out single and Smith III followed by driving him all the way around from first with an RBI double to right-center.

The Mountaineers threatened in the last of the sixth by getting two men aboard with one away, but the Knights called upon Sosnowski and the senior managed to escape the threat with back-to-back outs to keep WVU off the board.

With two outs and nobody on in the top of the seventh, Williamson belted out a line drive home run to the leftfield corner for a solo shot. It marked the second two-home run game of his career. The round tripper traveled 361 feet and resulted in his team-leading eighth long ball of the season.

The leadoff man reached for the West Viriginia in the bottom of seventh, but Sosnowski responded by retiring the next three men he faced to send it to the eighth. The senior captain continued to pitch well in relief for the Knights by retiring the Mountaineers in order in the last of the eighth.

UCF’s Jones then entered in the last of the ninth and promptly retired the side in order to complete the Black and Gold’s fourth shutout of the season.

In all, the UCF bullpen allowed just two hits and no walks while striking out seven batters over 8.0 shutout innings of work.

Williamson led the Knight offense by going 3-for-4 with two home runs and three runs scored, while Ross finished 2-for-4 with two runs batted in. Smith III and Moran also had two hit performances for the Black and Gold.   

The victory marked UCF’s first win over WVU in the Rich Wallace era. It also resulted in the Black and Gold’s first win over a ranked opponent since it defeated No. 15 TCU on April 19, 2025, and their first win in a ranked vs. ranked contest since March 23, 2018, when No. 20 UCF defeated No. 18 East Carolina in American Conference action.

On Deck

The Knights will look to take the series over West Virginia with game two on Saturday at 2 p.m. The two will then close the series on Sunday at noon. Following this weekend’s action, the Black and Gold will return home to host neighboring foe Stetson on Tuesday, April 7 for the 407 game at 6 p.m. at John Euliano Park.