SURPRISE, Ariz. – Javier Crespo tied it in the fifth with a three-run home run, but No. 19 Oklahoma State responded with a five-run eighth inning on its way to defeating UCF by a score of 12-6 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Baseball Tournament Presented by Allstate on Thursday morning at Surprise Stadium.
The fourth-seeded Knights (31-21) had their 2026 Big 12 Tournament run come to a close with the setback, while the fifth-seeded Cowboys (37-19) advanced on to Friday’s semifinal round with the victory.
“It was a great game by Oklahoma State. Our guys hung in there and fought to get it back to 5-5, and we had a chance there in the eighth. But they just played better over the final two innings than us,” head UCF coach Rich Wallace said.
After the Cowboys scored a run in the top of the first inning, the Knights immediately answered with a run in the bottom of the inning to tie things up. Cayden Gaskin led things off with a double. After UCF loaded the bases with one away, Crespo drove him in with an RBI fielder’s choice.
The Pokes got a one-out triple in the second and looked to take the lead as Alex Conover ripped a ball down the first-base line, but Black and Gold first baseman Landon Moran made another incredible play with a diving stop and flip to Camden Wicker covering the bag to get the out and keep the run off the board.
LANDON MORAN ARE YOU SERIOUS 🤯
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) May 21, 2026
The senior lays out at first to save a run and send the Knights to the bottom half! pic.twitter.com/z08EVbbAb8
Ater a pair of scoreless innings, OK State scored two runs on three hits in the fourth to take a 3-1 advantage. Following a Colin Brueggemann double, Garrett Shull drove him home with an RBI single to right. Brock Thompson then added another run for the Pokes on an RBI infield single.
OSU then tacked on two more runs in the fifth to extend its lead to 5-1. With two runners aboard, the Knights threw the ball away on a bunt for the first run of the frame. Brueggemann capped the scoring in the inning with a sacrifice fly.
The Knights answered with four runs in the last of the fifth to deadlock the score. Gaskin started the rally in the inning with his third hit of the game—a one-out double to deep left field. Second Team All-Big 12 honoree John Smith III followed by reaching on an error. With two outs in the frame, the senior Zak Skinner delivered an RBI double to left field to make it 5-2. Fellow senior Crespo followed by blasting out a three-run home run to on a payoff pitch to tie the game. The game-tying homer marked his fifth of the season and traveled 381 feet off the bat.
If nobody got me, I know Javier Crespo got me 💥 https://t.co/rglOKAKwjt pic.twitter.com/jMj1WMobhn
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) May 21, 2026
Freshman All-Big 12 selection Max Murray gave UCF 2.2 solid innings of relief in the middle innings in which he allowed just one unearned run and had a stretch in which he struck out four consecutive batters to keep the Knights in the game. With OSU threatening in the top of the seventh with two runners on the base paths and two away in the frame, fellow freshman Kaniel Rosado entered and drew a flyout off the bat of Shull to end the threat.
The Black and Gold got a two-out double from Second Team All-Big 12 honoree Andrew Williamson in the bottom of the seventh, but OK State reliever Mario Pesca pitched out of it by drawing an inning-ending groundout.
The Cowboys loaded the bases with one out in the eighth and managed to drive in five runs to take a late 10-5 lead. Walks aided OSU in the frame, as the first run of the inning came home on a bases-loaded walk and the second on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Smithwick. Following an umpire interference call and a walk, Brueggemann delivered the big hit of the inning with a bases-clearing single to right-center.
UCF got the leadoff man aboard in the bottom of the eighth on a Crespo single. Following a fielder’s choice, walk, and a flyout, the freshman Stephen Chucka grabbed a bat and again delivered with a pinch-hit RBI single to right to make it a 10-6 score. Over his last three at-bats, he’s now a perfect 3-for-3 with five RBIs. OSU reliever Pesca responded, however, with an inning-ending strikeout to end the threat.
Oklahoma State added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the ninth with one coming home on an RBI triple from Conover and another on a double steal attempt to extend their lead to 12-6.
The Knights didn’t go down easily in the last of the ninth, as they quickly loaded the bases following back-to-back singles from Smith III and Williamson, along with a walk from Skinner. OSU reliever Noah Wech responded, however, with a pop out and a double play to end the ballgame.
The senior Crespo led the Black and Gold from the plate by going 2-for-5 with a home run, a run scored and a team-high four RBIs. Fellow senior Gaskin was next by tallying a game-high three hits with a pair of doubles and two runs scored, while senior catcher Skinner went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Brueggemann paced the Pokes with a 2-for-3 performance with four RBIs.
Rosado was tagged with the loss for UCF to drop to 0-3 on the year, while OSU’s Pesca improved to 6-4 with the win.
The contest marked UCF’s first Big 12 Tournament game since May 24, 2024, when it too faced Oklahoma State in Arlington, Texas. The Knights are now 2-2 all-time in Big 12 Tournament play.
The tournament also marked the Black and Gold's inaugural trip to the Grand Canyon State.
On Deck
The Knights will now await a possible at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Baseball Selection Show is scheduled for noon ET on Memorial Day live on ESPN2. The Black and Gold posted their highest finish in the Big 12 era by tying for third in the conference standings as well as their most Big 12 wins this season with 19 (19-11). UCF also won a Big 12-era best seven league series this year and currently holds the No. 33 spot on the most recent RPI.