The UCF Knights defeated the Kansas State Wildcats 6-5 on Saturday at John Euliano Park. The Knights finish the regular season with seven Big XII series wins, a sizable improvement from three such wins in 2025.
“I was thinking back when the guys were down there a year ago, what their seniors and the returners had to go through, and what that felt like at the end of the year in their season,” UCF coach Rich Wallace said. “I asked them when we met to make a stand in this league and go from nine wins to 19. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
UCF trailed by one run entering the bottom of the ninth. They then scored two runs to walk off the Wildcats. The Knights had three-straight batters reach base with two outs to end the game.
Knights first baseman Landon Moran had three hits and reached base four times, including the final play of the ball game. Shortstop Jordan Lodise had three of UCF’s RBI’s in the contest, while no Wildcat had more than one.
“It was special [hitting the walkoff] being a senior year,” Moran said. “I was talking about at the end of the game to that reporter. Nothing better you can ask for right there. Like having all the guys come after you running, especially celebrate a big one right there.”
Kansas State and UCF used a combined 10 pitchers in the rubber match, with neither starter lasting more than two innings. No team led by more than one run at any point in the game. There were five lead changes and five ties.
“We’re asking a lot out of Max Murray and Kevin Schoneboom and Evan Jones just to repeatedly do that and for them to fight through it and do that, and they knew it,” Wallace said. “They came to us and said, ‘coach, we’re going to figure out a way to do this.’”
Game flow
Kansas State started the scoring in the first, scoring a run on a fielder’s choice. UCF answered in the second inning on a sacrifice fly by Lodise despite the team not recording a hit in the inning.
The Wildcats reclaimed the lead in the fourth inning after Shintaro Inoue singled, stole second, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Kansas State first baseman Ty Smolinski hit a double to give the team a 2-1 lead.
Once again, the Knights responded. In the bottom of the fourth, third baseman Javier Crespo hit a first-pitch home run to tie the game.
UCF took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the sixth after Landon Moran and Lodise doubled. After the teams scored 13 runs in the seventh over their first two games, both lineups went 1-2-3 in their final matchup.
The action picked up in the eighth. After Evan Jones entered in relief for UCF, the Kansas State offense woke up. Pinch-hitter Kyan Lodice tied the game with a home run, Grant Gallagher singled and stole second, and Cadyn Karl singled Gallagher home for a 4-3 lead.
Moran collected his third hit in the bottom of the eighth and was brought home by a Lodise fielder’s choice to tie the game heading into the ninth.
Jones worked into trouble in the top of the inning, walking the first batter he faced before being replaced by Max Murray. Murray threw a wild pitch and walked the next batter, putting two runners on with no outs. A sacrifice bunt and sacrifice fly brought home the leading run, putting the Knights down one run entering the inning.
Pinch hitter Stephen Chucka came through for the second time in the series, hitting a game-tying home run for his first collegiate homer.
“[Chucka] loves to hit,” Wallace said. “He does a really good job of blocking out the noise and getting up there and just looking for a heater and hitting, and you saw that today.”
After two quick outs, UCF rallied with back-to-back hits from Andrew Williamson and Crespo. Moran hit a ball to the right side of the infield, but Smolinski had a fielding error to allow the final run of the game.
“I just put my head down and ran as hard as I could, and luckily he missed it for the pitcher,” Moran said.
Next up:
UCF enters the Big XII Baseball Tournament as the No. 4 seed, drawing No. 5 Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals. The Knights swept the Cowboys at John Euliano Park to start conference play back in March.
“I think this team’s dangerous,” Moran said. “I think a lot of people look past us. I don’t think a lot of people are ready for what’s coming, so it’s exciting.”
First pitch is set for noon on May 21.