The University of Central Florida baseball team defeated Baylor by a score of 19-3 on May 9, securing the series win at Magnolia Field at Baylor Ballpark.
The game was notable for UCF’s strong offensive performance, with the team recording a season-high 19 runs and a season-best 22 hits. Senior DeAmez Ross led the Knights by going 5-for-6 and driving in four runs. JD Rogers also contributed four RBIs, while John Smith III, Zak Skinner, and Landon Moran each collected three hits and multiple RBIs. Both Ross and Skinner reached their career milestone of 200 hits during the contest.
UCF improved its record to 29-18 overall and now holds a conference record of 17-9 in Big 12 play. The team’s six league series wins tie their most since joining the Big 12 before the start of the previous season. Baylor fell to an even record of 25-25 overall and is now at 11-15 in conference games.
Head coach Rich Wallace said, “We got on their starter early—a six-run top of the first kind of helped with that. The at-bats stayed consistent throughout the game. We took some really big swings by a number of guys in some big spots.” He added about Ross: “DeAmez has obviously had a big week for us at the top of the lineup, especially here today. That’s what we’re going to need from him going forward, as that looked like vintage DeAmez Ross.”
Junior pitcher Camden Wicker earned his fifth win after allowing two runs over five-and-two-thirds innings pitched. Relievers Kevin Schoneboom and Zachary Malvasio combined for one-and-a-third innings in relief work, giving up just one run between them.
Looking ahead, UCF will attempt to sweep Baylor in Sunday’s game before returning home for its final regular-season series next week. The Knights are set to participate in the Big 12 Baseball Tournament later this month.
