CINCINNATI — UCF had a big offensive weekend, scoring 17 runs on 35 hits, but host Cincinnati was even more efficient, scoring 23 runs on just 29 hits, in sweeping the 3-game Big 12 series at UC Baseball Stadium.
The Knights (17-10, 3-6 Big 12) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in Friday’s opener, but the Bearcats (16-11, 4-5) scored six unanswered runs before the guests rallied for a run and looked for more by loading the bases with two outs in the ninth inning, before falling 6-4.
DeAmez Ross led UCF offensively in the game, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored, while Andrew Williamson and Lex Boedicker each recorded two hits and drove in a run.
In a back-and-forth game on Saturday, the Knights took a lead in the top of the 10th, but Cincinnati responded with two runs of its own in the bottom of the inning to earn a 7-6 extra-inning victory.
Williamson led the Black and Gold at the plate, going 2-for-5 with a homer, a double, an RBI and two runs scored, while Boedicker went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Antonio Jimenez blasted a 2-run home run.
Despite putting up a game-high 15 hits, UCF found itself on the wrong side of a tightly contested 10-7 ballgame in the series finale to Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon.
In a game that went back and forth throughout, the Bearcats managed to drive in three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to complete the three-game sweep.
With Cincinnati holding to a 1-0 lead in the early stages, the Knights bounced back with a pair of runs in the third to take a 2-1 advantage. A trio of singles from Ross, Jimenez and Edian Espinal loaded the bases before Williamson tied things up with a sacrifice fly to center field. Boedicker then gave the Black and Gold the lead with an RBI groundout.
The Bearcats answered in the bottom of the third with four runs of their own to take a 5-2 lead, but UCF responded in the top of the fifth to tie the contest at 5-all as singles from Ross and Espinal allowed Williamson to equal things with a three-run home run off the scoreboard in right. The round tripper was his team-leading seventh of the year.
In the seventh inning, Chase Krewson got things going by pulling a double down the rightfield line and Dylan King gave the Black and Gold the lead with a two-run home run to right center. King’s homer marked his sixth of the season and traveled 397 feet.
But Cincinnati countered again in the bottom of the seventh with two runs of its own to tie things up and then took advantage of three walks and a pair of two-out RBI singles to plated the three runs in the eighth.
Ross and Espinal each went 4-for-5 with a run scored, while Williamson had a nice day with a game-high four RBI.
Up Next:
The Knights opened a four-game homestand on Tuesday against Stetson and will welcome Kansas to John Euliano Park for a Big 12 series with games at 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. 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.
