DELAND — Grant Siegel tossed five scoreless innings and Edian Espinal added a two-run single in the seventh to lead UCF baseball to a 3-0 shutout victory over in-state foe Stetson on Tuesday night on Melching Field at Conrad Park.
The win marked the Black and Gold’s 10th in their last 11 games and upped UCF’s season record to 16-4. The Hatters dropped to 11-11 with the setback.
“Stetson is a well-coached team, and I thought it was a great game on both sides. They pitched and defended at a high level, and we were able to create just enough to get us a little bit of an edge there,” head UCF head Rich Wallace said. “Grant really commanded the ball after the first inning and attacked the zone. When he’s at his best, that’s what it looks like.”
Stetson threatened in the first by loading the bases with two away, but Siegel responded with an inning-ending strikeout that started a string of 13 consecutive retired batters, as he set down the Hatters in order in the second, third, fourth and fifth frames.
The Black and Gold broke on top in the fifth inning. Kendrey Maduro singled and Dylan King followed with a hustle double on a hit and run. Chase Krewson then drove in Maduro with a one-out grounder to the right side.
The Knights added a pair of insurance runs in the top of seventh. Following back-to-back one-out singles from Antonio Jimenez and Krewson, Espinal — the nation’s hottest hitter — delivered a two-out, two-run single through the right side.
Kevin Schoneboom took over for Siegel in the sixth and allowed a pair of hits, but a pickoff eliminated one of the runners, before Russell Sandefer came on to finish off the shutout with three strong innings to earn his first save of the season. The Hatters got a one-out hit in the eighth but Antonio Jimenez managed to turn a 6-3 inning-ending double play and the right-hander pitched around a two-out walk in the ninth to seal the victory.
In all, the Black and Gold limited Stetson to just four hits on the night.
Siegel improved to 2-1 with a season-high five innings of one-hit baseball with a season-high five strike outs. Sandefer also allowed just one hit over a season-long three innings while striking out two.
DeAmez Ross led the way offensively by going 2-for-5 with a double, while seven other Knights had one hit each, including a double from Andrew Williamson, in the nine-hit outing.
The win marked UCF’s sixth in the last seven meetings against Stetson.
Up Next:
After four games away from home, the Knights returned to John Euliano Park to host Houston in their first home Big 12 series of the season. The three-game started on Friday. today’s (Saturday) game is set for 6 p.m. and the Sunday finale will begin at 1 p.m. The team will travel to Jacksonville on Tuesday to face the Dolphins at 6 p.m. at John Sessions Stadium. The games will be streamed on ESPN+, while live audio will be available by visiting UCFKnights.com or FM 96.9 The Game on the radio and live stats can also be followed at ucf.statbroadcast.com.
