It was a rewarding weekend for the UCF baseball team for many reasons.
The Knights kicked off American Athletic Conference play with a perfect 3-0 record, the pitching was fantastic, and they dominated USF in another War on I-4 series — thanks to game three’s late-game heroics.
With Saturday’s game being postponed due to rain, the rivals played a double-header on Sunday, with game two being condensed to seven innings.
Here are some of the most intriguing takeaways from this weekend.
Late rally sparks game three comeback victory
Facing a 4-0 deficit in the bottom of the fifth, the Knights looked completely flat.
That all changed after freshman Andrew Sundean clobbered a solo homer to give UCF its first score of the game.
This ignited what ultimately became a five-run inning for the Knights.
A couple at bats later, junior outfielder Gephry Peña singled an RBI, sending Brooks home to decrease the deficit to two runs.
Boedicker followed up with an RBI single of his own, allowing junior infielder Tim Josten to score.
One run game.
Next up was junior catcher Ben McCabe, who dinged a 2-RBI, allowing Boedicker and Peña to reach home.
5-4 Knights — a lead the Knights never relinquished.
UCF controlled the remainder of the game, winning 8-4.
The pitching was near-perfect
With the exception of game three, you can thank UCF’s extraordinary pitching for the sweep.
Going into the series, Knights’ sophomore starting pitcher Connor Staine led the nation with his 0.00 ERA.
Staine continued to control the mound on Friday, striking out eight batters in six innings. The junior completed a shutout, allowing just one hit in the game one’s 5-0 win.
Redshirt junior Kyle Kramer relieved Staine in the bottom of the seventh, striking out four batters in 1.2 innings.
Sophomore Chase Cantala, closed the game with two strikeouts in 1.1 innings.
The three pitchers combined for 14 strikeouts and just one hit in the shutout.
With the win, Staine improved to a perfect 4-0 on the season.
Staine attributed his confidence and teammates for his success following the conference opener.
“I can’t do it on my own, obviously. (Alex) Freeland did a great job tonight at short stop. (Michael) Brooks made a play at the very first pitch of the game, so I can’t do it without them,” Staine told media.
UCF Athletics
The superb pitching carried over to game two, as all three pitchers combined for nine strikeouts and just one hit in another shutout victory.
Sophomore starting pitcher William Saxton led the way with four K’s and a no-hitter in three innings.
Sophomore Ben Vespi contributed with three strikeouts in two innings.
Game two’s crucial double play
In the top of the second inning in game two, Saxton found himself in trouble after walking three consecutive batters to load the bases.
With the game tied at 0 and just one out on the board, USF had a grand opportunity to take its first lead of the series.
The Bulls fumbled that opportunity, as sophomore Matt Ruiz grounded into a 1-2-3 double play that kept UCF unscathed going into the middle of the second.
Dominance from the freshman
USF pitchers simply could not stop UCF freshman infielder Lex Boedicker.
The freshman recorded a career-high three hits in the series opener. One of those was a RBI single to right field, sending senior infielder Noah Orlando home to extend the Knights’ lead to 2-0 in the third.
Boedicker continued to shine in game two, adding two hits and a run.
The freshman finished the weekend with five hits, two RBIs, and two runs.
What the heck just happened?
In the bottom of the first of game two, USF freshman outfielder Jackson Mayo made a Sports Center’s Top 10-worthy play that left everybody confused — even the umpires.
UCF senior infielder Noah Orlando hit a fly ball to right field that looked like it could go the distance. Mayo — fully extending his body — made a flying leap, tumbled over the fence, and somehow managed to hold on to the ball.
The umpires had no idea what to initially rule, and instead, headed straight to the replay booth where they eventually ruled it an out.
The play kept the game scoreless going into the second.
What’s next?
Following the sweep, UCF improved to 18-10 on the season and pushed the War on I-4 all-time lead to 42-12
Head coach Greg Lovelady also picked up his 299th career win.
Lovelady will look to grab number 300 when the Knights travel to Boca Raton to take on Florida Atlantic University (18-10) on Tuesday at 6:30 pm.
