No. 11 West Virginia defeated No. 23 UCF by a score of 11-10 on April 4, evening the series at Kendrick Family Ballpark in Morgantown.
The result keeps the Knights (19-9) atop the Big 12 Conference standings with a league record of 9-2, while West Virginia (21-6) remains close behind at 8-3. The final game of the series is scheduled for Sunday at noon.
UCF’s John Smith III led his team offensively, going three-for-five with four runs batted in. Pitcher Mateo Gray delivered a career-long outing, pitching six and one-third innings and striking out six batters in just his second career start. Despite these efforts, West Virginia rallied late in the game to secure victory.
The Knights took an early lead after scoring three runs in the fourth inning and extended their advantage to as much as eight runs by the middle innings. However, West Virginia responded with home runs from Sean Smith and Matt Ineich before mounting a comeback that included four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Matthew Gravelline delivered a two-run walk-off single up the middle for West Virginia’s win.
UCF closer Evan Jones was charged with the loss after allowing one earned run over two innings pitched. Carson Estridge earned the win for West Virginia, improving his record to three wins this season.
The teams will conclude their series on Easter Sunday before UCF returns home to host Stetson for midweek action.
