The University of Central Florida baseball team lost to Florida Atlantic University 6-5 in a midweek game on May 5 at FAU Baseball Stadium.
The loss drops UCF’s overall record to 27-18, while FAU improves to 25-23. The game was the only meeting between the two teams this season.
UCF took an early lead by scoring four runs in the top of the second inning. Freshman catcher Dallas Brooks drove in two runs with a single, followed by Austin Jacobs and Andrew Williamson each adding RBI hits. However, FAU responded with four runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning, including a two-run home run by Patrick Ward that tied the score at 4-4.
In the third inning, Zak Skinner scored on an RBI double from Javier Crespo to give UCF a brief 5-4 advantage. Freshman pitcher Wyatt Dion entered in relief for UCF and delivered a strong performance over 2.1 scoreless innings without allowing a hit. Senior infielder Braden Calise also pitched and helped maintain UCF’s lead through five innings by inducing an inning-ending double play.
FAU rallied again in the sixth inning as Marshall Lipsey tied it up with an RBI single before Michael Perazza put them ahead with a sacrifice fly. Despite late efforts from relievers Max Murray and Zachary Malvasio keeping it close, UCF could not capitalize on opportunities in the ninth as FAU’s Garrett Grant closed out the game for his first save of the season.
DeAmez Ross led UCF offensively with two hits and one run scored, while Brooks had one hit and two RBIs. Crespo added another hit along with an RBI and run scored for UCF. For FAU, Ward finished with two hits including his home run and drove in two runs.
Despite this setback, UCF has won six of its last nine games. The Knights remain fourth place in Big 12 Conference standings (15-9) as they prepare for their final road league series against Baylor this weekend.
