ORLANDO — UCF baseball (9-3) defeated the No. 6 Florida Gators (11-2), 13-3, on Tuesday night at John Euliano Park to mark the Knights' largest margin of victory over Florida. It also resulted in the Black and Gold’s sixth straight win over the Gators and happened in front of a crowd of 4,204 fans, the second-largest home crowd in program history.
“You could feel it in the dugout,” head coach Rich Wallace said. “I told them just go out there and focus and play. Find a way to get the crowd into it.”
It didn’t take long for the hosts to get on the board. After getting an inning-ending double play to open the game, Evian Espinal ripped a ball down the first base line that the first baseman misplayed with one out and Andrew Williamson belted a two-run home run to the opposite field to give the Knights a 2-0 lead. The homer marked Williamson’s team-leading fourth of the season and the second year in a row that he hit a first-inning home run against the Gators.
Florida would tie it in the next inning, the first run coming home on a single by former Lake Brantley standout catcher Luke Heyman, but the Knights would regain the lead in the fourth on an RBI single by Braden Calise following a booming triple off the wall in left center by Lex Boedicker.
Heyman, a junior, would finish the night 1-for-3 with the RBI and a walk and would throw out two would-be base stealers.
UCF would start to pull away when Espinal hit a three-run home run to right field in the bottom of the fifth inning, marking his second game in a row with a home run.
The Black and Gold would score 11 unanswered runs with seven players combining for 13 hits. Four of the seven had multiple hits, and six had at least one RBI. Boedicker led the way, going 4-for-5 with a triple, an RBI and a run scored. Espinal was next, going 2-for-4 with a homer, a double, four runs batted in and two runs scored. DeAmez Ross also had a big night, going 2-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored. For Espinal, this marked his fourth multi-hit performance in the last five games.
Four pitchers combined to limit the No. 6 team to just two runs on seven hits while striking out 10 batters. Earning the win was Dominic Castellano (2-0), who relieved starter Angelo Smith in the top of the second with runners on second and third and one out. The lefthander would pitch 3.2 innings of scoreless relief in which he gave up just one hit while striking out three batters.
Alex Galvan would pitch 3.0 scoreless innings and surrender just a single hit. Most notably, he struck out five straight batters during one stretch, including the side in the top of the sixth, and retired nine of the 10 batters he faced.
Isaac Williams was brought in to finish. After giving up a solo home run, he would quickly respond with a strike out, weak fly ball and a foul pop to first base.
UCF has now won its last three games by 10 or more runs, having scored a combined 37 runs over the last four days. The team also earned its first home win over a ranked opponent since its 5-4 win over No. 18 Texas on May 11 last season.
Up Next:
The Knights are back at John Euliano Park, opening a three-game series against Monmouth on Friday. Game 2 is today (Saturday) at 6 p.m. and the finale is Sunday at 12:30 p.m. UCF will conclude a five-game homestand on Tuesday at 6 p.m. against national-power Miami.
