Entering this game with an impressive 7-0 record, the UCF Knights returned to their home turf to face off against their cross-state adversaries, the USF Bulls.
The match kicked off with a bit of a stumble on the Knights’ end, as Tyler Nesbitt’s pitches went awry, allowing the Bulls to connect with a few batters.
USF wasted no time capitalizing on these errors, with Eric Snow scoring on a Rafael Betancourt fly to centerfield initiating the scoring. Drew Brutcher swiftly followed on a Jackson Mayo triple, trailed by Mayo as he scored on a wild pitch for USF. The Bulls came out storming to a quick 3-0 lead in the first inning.
Nesbitt shook off the first batter’s jitters and settled into the game as he struck out the next couple of batters.
UCF finally got on the board in the bottom of the third inning as Andrew Sundean hit a fly ball for an out that allowed Matt Prevesk to score. UCF then decided to wake up by using the fourth inning of this matchup to rattle off four runs. An Andrew Estrella double allowed Mikey Kluska to score in the bottom of the fourth. In addition, a Matt Prevesk homer towards right field allowed Danny Neri and Estrella to score, putting the Knights up 5-3.
In the top of the sixth, Najer Victor went in to relieve Nesbitt out of the bullpen.
Following a less-than-stellar performance, Victor was relieved by Cameron Crain in the top of the seventh inning, tasked with shutting down the Bulls as UCF clung to a narrow 5-4 lead.
After a scoreless inning, USF broke the silence by notching four runs in the following two innings – one in the sixth and three in the seventh. In the top of the sixth, Rose’s flyout enabled Rozenblum to cross home plate. Following Rozenblum’s fly out to the right field, Drew Brutcher scored. Then, John Montes singled to right field, driving in Jackson Mayo and Bobby Boser for two more runs.
With the runs tallied in both the sixth and seventh innings, USF led 7-5 against the UCF Knights.
As the game entered the bottom of the seventh inning, the USF Bulls made their third pitching change of the night, maintaining a 7-5 lead over the Knights. Kyle Scrape stepped onto the mound, determined to preserve USF’s advantage against UCF.
Heading into the eighth inning, the Knights were down 7-5 hoping to make a comeback. As the eighth inning got underway, a noticeable shift in momentum took hold. In the eighth inning, Matt Rose hit a ground ball and then Eric Snow got caught looking on a third strike. After that, a double play happened causing the UCF crowd to start roaring like never before.
The fervent support of the UCF Knights’ fanbase reverberated through the stadium, growing louder as the game headed into its decisive final innings.
The ninth inning was a tail of two halves as the top of the ninth went great for UCF. The other half was underwhelming for UCF fans while it couldn’t be better for USF.
The top of the ninth saw Betancourt hit a single to left field. After that, Boser struck out swinging. Then, UCF got a double play on a Betancourt grounder.
The momentum that UCF had built up while batting in the second half of the ninth inning, unfortunately, fizzled out rather swiftly. UCF only had five batters the entire ninth inning and the farthest any batter reached was second base. UCF’s fanbase was rocking the final two minutes but it couldn’t keep them afloat as USF knocked off UCF 7-5 in the second game of the three-game series.
When asked about out-hitting USF 11-9, Matt Prevask responded with, “We have to start getting on pitchers right when they come out of the bullpen.”
As the night comes to a close, UCF could not complete the comeback as they will fall to the Bulls, 7-5, snapping their undefeated streak to start the 2024 season. UCF plays USF again on March 3rd at 1:00 pm.