The UCF Knights defeated the Arizona Wildcats 13-3 in eight innings on Saturday night at John Euliano Park. The Knights had 17 hits against the Wildcats, with only four of them going for extra bases.
“I think we put on display the way we want to go about the pitching, the defense for the most part, and just being versatile on offense,” UCF coach Rich Wallace said. “We get some home runs yesterday, we move some around had some clutch hitting tonight. Whatever it takes on that given day, we have to do that. We proved we were able to do that in different situations.”
After Matt Sauser was a late scratch due to back tightness, sophomore pitcher Mateo Gray was asked to start his first collegiate game. On short notice, Gray had six innings of two-run ball, securing his third win of the season.
“I found out during batting practice that I was going to start,” Gray said. “I came back in here, regrouped, and then just went out there and did my thing.”
Gray had good defense behind him, with first baseman Landon Moran, third baseman Javier Crespo and left fielder John Smith III all flashing the leather for outs.
“Yeah, they’re the best,” Gray said. “That’s kind of my game: go out there, put strikes on the plate, and let the guys hit it. I trust my defense. I have all the trust in the world. I see it in practice every day. And there’s not a play that they can’t make.”
Both leadoff man Cayden Gaskin and nine-hole hitter Austin Jacobs collected three hits and three RBI’s for the Knights, while the Wildcats ended the contest with just three total hits.
The game was close early, tied at two, when Arizona right fielder Andrew Cain hit a home run in the top of the third. However, after the tie, the Wildcats were held to one hit while the Knights had 11 in the next six frames.
“I told [the team] to give me runs early and it’s over,” Gray said. “Just let me cruise, give me a lead. It helps a pitcher a lot.”
After giving up a run in the top of the eighth and with poor weather hitting the park, the Knights were looking for a run-rule. They did just that, putting up a six spot in the bottom of the eighth and walked the game off on a wild pitch.
“I can’t even [remember a game ending with a wild pitch run-rule],” Wallace said. “That was big to win the game right there and not have to go back out.”
UCF is now 7-1 against Big XII opponents in 2026 and are two games away from tying their win total in the conference from last season.
“We talked about it earlier in the year; I felt like we were talented enough that we could play with anybody in the country,” Wallace said. “I think we’ve proven that, but this is a tough thing, and this is 10 weeks of Super Regional, so you gotta do it every single week.”
Next up
The Knights can secure their second series sweep against Arizona on Sunday. Camden Wicker, who is starting for UCF, is 2-0 in Big XII games in 2026.
“We have to come out and be ready to punch them in the face first,” Gaskin said. “That’s the biggest thing. You can’t get too comfortable in this league. It’s baseball, anything can happen. You have to come out for a fight and win the series, the sweep, the series, and keep going from there.”
First pitch is set for 1 p.m. on March 29.