UCF Baseball blasts Utah for Big 12 road sweep
UCF Baseball needed a response weekend. The Knights got much more than that.
After a frustrating two-week stretch that knocked UCF out of the national rankings and tightened the Big 12 race, the Black and Gold went west and delivered one of their most complete weekends of the season, sweeping Utah in dominant fashion at America First Ballpark.
UCF won Friday’s opener 12-2, then swept Saturday’s doubleheader by scores of 12-4 and 10-0. Two of the three games ended by run rule, with Friday’s opener finishing after eight innings and Saturday’s finale wrapping up after seven.
By the end of the weekend, UCF had outscored Utah 34-6, out-hit the Utes 40-18 and climbed to 25-15 overall and 14-7 in Big 12 play, good for second place in the conference standings.
It was a loud response from a UCF team that entered the weekend coming off a series loss to Cincinnati and a midweek escape at Bethune-Cookman.
Knights overpower Utah’s staff
UCF’s offense set the tone early in the series and never really slowed down.
The Knights scored at least 10 runs in all three games, collected at least 12 hits in all three, and finished the weekend 15-for-31 with runners in scoring position.
The biggest swing Friday came from JD Rogers, who had one of the best individual games of UCF’s season. Rogers went 4-for-4 with two home runs, a double, two runs scored and seven RBIs in the 12-2 win. His two-run homer was part of a five-run seventh inning that helped turn the opener into a run-rule victory.
DeAmez Ross also homered in the opener, while Zak Skinner went 3-for-5 and Landon Moran scored three times. UCF finished with 15 hits and did not commit an error.
The offensive surge continued Saturday afternoon, even after Utah jumped out to a 3-1 lead through two innings and still led 4-2 after six. UCF answered with three runs in the seventh and seven more in the eighth to turn a close game into another blowout.
John Smith III hit two home runs in that game, including a 461-foot two-run shot in the seventh that gave UCF the lead for good. Skinner followed with an inside-the-park home run after the Utah right fielder Luke Jacobs failed to retrieve the ball at the base of the wall, then added a two-run single during the seven-run eighth.
Skinner finished the game 4-for-5 with four RBIs. Smith went 2-for-5 with three RBIs and three runs scored. Moran added two hits, while Austin Jacobs reached three times and scored twice from the No. 9 spot.
Smith, Skinner Lead Big Weekend
The heart of UCF’s order did the bulk of the damage all weekend.
Smith finished the series 5-for-13 with three home runs, five runs scored and eight RBIs. After going hitless in the opener, he homered twice in Saturday’s first game, then opened the finale with a 441-foot two-run blast in the first inning.
Skinner was even more consistent. The senior catcher went 9-for-13 on the weekend with six runs scored, five RBIs, a double and a home run. He had three hits Friday, four more in Saturday’s first game and two more in the finale.
Moran also had a strong series, going 6-for-12 with five runs scored. Javier Crespo went 5-for-12 with three RBIs, while Andrew Williamson reached base seven times and scored four runs.
Rogers did most of his damage Friday, but still finished tied with Smith for the team lead with eight RBIs in the series.
Wicker Finishes It Off
The final game of the series may have been UCF’s cleanest performance of the weekend.
The Knights scored four runs in the first inning and five more in the fourth, giving Camden Wicker more than enough support in a 10-0 run-rule win.
Wicker was sharp from the start, throwing a complete-game shutout while allowing just two hits over seven innings. He walked two, struck out five and held Utah to 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
It was a significant finish to the weekend considering the opponent. Utah entered the series with one of the Big 12’s better offenses, hitting .314 overall and .329 in conference play. The Utes were also 13-3 at home and had won six straight in Salt Lake City.
UCF shut all of that down.
For the series, Utah went just 1-for-24 with runners in scoring position. The Utes scored only six runs in 24 innings and were held to two hits in the finale.
Bullpen Slams the Door
UCF also got important work from its bullpen.
Mateo Gray did not have his cleanest outing Friday, allowing eight hits over five innings, but he limited the damage to two runs and improved to 5-0. Kevin Schoneboom then finished the opener with three no-hit innings, striking out four and earning his first save.
Saturday’s first game could have gotten away early after Matt Sauser allowed three runs in the first two innings. Instead, Kaniel Rosado stabilized the game with four innings of one-run ball, striking out six. Anthony Lariz followed with a scoreless inning to earn the win, and Kris Sosnowski closed it out with three scoreless innings for his fourth save.
Schoneboom, Rosado, Lariz and Sosnowski combined for 11 innings of relief over the first two games, allowing just one run.
Between that bullpen work and Wicker’s complete-game shutout, UCF’s pitching staff put together one of its best weekends of conference play.
A Big 12 race statement
The sweep was UCF’s third Big 12 sweep of the season, joining home sweeps of Oklahoma State and Arizona earlier in conference play.
This one came on the road, against a Utah team that had just swept Texas Tech and entered the weekend tied in the middle of a crowded Big 12 race.
Instead of simply getting back on track, UCF jumped back into the top tier of the league standings. Kansas leads the group with a 16-4 record heading into Sunday, but the Knights will be no worse than in a tie for second with a 14-7 record.
UCF plays Stetson in Lakeland on Wednesday before welcoming Arizona State to John Euliano Park next weekend.
