UCF baseball defeated Baylor 8-0 in the series opener on May 8 at Magnolia Field at Baylor Ballpark. The victory was secured by pitchers Mateo Gray, Max Murray, and Anthony Lariz, who combined to hold Baylor scoreless over nine innings.
The win is significant as it moves UCF to a tie for third place in the Big 12 standings with a record of 28-18 overall and 16-9 in conference play. The team has now achieved its highest number of conference wins since joining the Big 12 prior to the 2024 season.
Gray started for UCF and pitched 4.1 innings, allowing four hits and striking out one batter. Murray led with five strikeouts over his relief appearance of 2.1 innings, while Lariz finished the game with two strikeouts across his perfect final innings. “Mateo was obviously outstanding. He didn’t have his best velocity on his fastball, but he executed, competed, and gave us everything that he had,” head UCF coach Rich Wallace said. “Murray did a nice job of picking him up. And Lariz came on and finished it. I couldn’t ask for more out of those guys.”
Offensively, UCF took an early lead with three runs in the second inning following back-to-back singles from Javier Crespo and Landon Moran before freshman Jordan Lodise hit a three-run home run—his second of the season—that traveled 400 feet to left-center field. The Knights added four more runs in the fourth inning through RBI singles from DeAmez Ross and John Smith III before extending their lead further in the fifth via a sacrifice fly by JD Rogers.
Baylor threatened briefly but could not score against UCF’s pitching staff; Gray ended an early threat with an inning-ending double play while Murray struck out three batters in one inning during relief work.
Seven different Knights recorded hits during the game, with Crespo and Moran each collecting three hits apiece. Lodise drove in three runs while Ross and Smith III contributed two RBIs each.
The shutout marks UCF’s sixth this season and third within conference play as they look ahead to continuing their series against Baylor over the weekend.
