UCF claims huge road series win with 5-1 victory at WVU, stays atop the Big 12
A day after letting an eight-run lead slip away, No. 23 UCF answered the way good teams do.
The Knights bounced back Sunday with a 5-1 win over No. 13 West Virginia in the rubber match, claiming a major road series victory in Morgantown and improving to 20-9 overall and 10-2 in Big 12 play. West Virginia dropped to 21-7 and 8-4 in the league.
It was a significant response for UCF, which had to shake off Saturday’s 11-10 walk-off loss and turn around less than 24 hours later against one of the league’s best teams. The Knights entered the weekend just 1-6 all-time against West Virginia and had been swept by the Mountaineers in each of the first two seasons of Big 12 play.
Wicker delivers a tone-setting start
Camden Wicker was the biggest reason why.
UCF’s junior right-hander turned in another strong outing, working 7.0 innings while allowing three hits, one run, three walks and six strikeouts across 113 pitches. He kept West Virginia off the board through seven innings and did not allow the Mountaineers to build any real momentum as the Knights protected a slim lead before finally breaking the game open.
West Virginia threatened a couple of times early, but Wicker pitched through it. He got a line-drive double play in the second after Matt Ineich walked and Matthew Graveline singled, then stranded Paul Schoenfeld after a two-out walk and stolen base in the fourth. He also worked around a fifth-inning single by Matthew Robaugh, and retired the side in order in both the first and sixth.
Wicker took a 5-0 lead into the eighth before exiting with one out and two runners aboard. Kris Sosnowski allowed a sacrifice fly that accounted for the lone West Virginia run, and Kevin Schoneboom handled the ninth to close it out.
Williamson starts it early, Knights cash in in the sixth
Andrew Williamson wasted little time giving UCF the lead.
After Cayden Gaskin struck out to begin the game, Williamson jumped on the next opportunity and launched a solo home run to deep right field, a 422-foot shot that put the Knights in front 1-0 in the first inning. It was his ninth homer of the season, and he finished 2-for-3 with two walks, two runs scored and an RBI.
That was all the offense UCF had for a while against West Virginia starter Chansen Cole, who kept the game at 1-0 into the sixth. But once the Knights got an opening, they took full advantage.
Austin Jacobs opened the sixth with a single, and Gaskin reached on a fielder’s choice that turned into a throwing error by second baseman Matthew Robaugh, allowing Gaskin to move into scoring position. West Virginia then intentionally walked Williamson, and John Smith III followed with an infield single to load the bases. From there, the inning unraveled for the Mountaineers. Zak Skinner reached on a fielding error by first baseman Armani Guzman, bringing home Gaskin. Landon Moran then drew an RBI walk, and James Hankerson Jr. delivered the big hit off the bench with a two-run pinch-hit single to right to push the lead to 5-0.
Knights stay in first place
The series win was another statement for a UCF team that entered the weekend atop the Big 12 standings and will remain there with a 10-2 league record. The Knights have now won all four of their league series thus far: Oklahoma State, TCU, Arizona and West Virginia.
UCF heads home for a Tuesday night non-conference tilt vs. Stetson, then will go back on the road for a series at Kansas. That will be another huge test as the Jayhawks currently sit in second place with a 9-3 Big 12 record following their home sweep of Utah.
