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Key Moments in UCF Knights' Win Against NC State in Auburn Regional

Despite an early deficit and the game ending 16 hours after it started, the UCF Knights baseball team took down NC State to advance the Auburn Regional's winner's bracket game.
Bryson Turner|
UCF Knights' Jordan Lodise (3) celebrates his home run as NC State Wolfpack take on UCF Knights during the NCAA Regional Baseball tournament at Plainsman Park in Auburn, Ala. on Friday, May 29, 2026.
UCF Knights' Jordan Lodise (3) celebrates his home run as NC State Wolfpack take on UCF Knights during the NCAA Regional Baseball tournament at Plainsman Park in Auburn, Ala. on Friday, May 29, 2026. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The UCF Knights baseball team got its Auburn Regional started on a positive note with a win against NC State that ended up spanning over 16 hours due to inclement weather.

Most of the matchup, including all 12 of both teams' combined runs, was seen on Friday night, with lightning in the area suspending the game with two outs in the top of the eighth inning. The Knights made quick work of the final four outs on early Saturday afternoon to lock up a spot in the regional final against Milwaukee later in the day at 8 p.m.

Hear what coach Rich Wallace (right), right fielder Andrew Williamson (left) and starting pitcher Camden Wicker (center) had to say after the game below:

Here are three key reasons why the Knights find themselves in the position to advance to the Auburn Regional final:

  1. Have a Night, Andrew Williamson!
  2. Bending, but not Breaking
  3. Bottom of the Lineup Production

1. Have a Night, Andrew Williamson!

The Knights needed immediate production on offense thanks to the Wolfpack putting them into a three-run deficit from their first at-bats, and the top of the lineup answered the call. Lead-off hitter DeAmez Ross and left fielder John Smith III combined for four of the Knights' 11 hits, but it was right fielder Andrew Williamson who brought them home, thanks to hitting a trio of home runs in four trips to the plate.

While anything that would have brought his teammates closer to reaching home would have been fine by Williamson, it was "nice to have the home runs," he said after the game on Saturday afternoon.

It is the first time that a UCF player has hit three home runs in one game since one of Williamson's former teammates, catcher Danny Neri, did it against Cincinnati in the 2024 Big 12 Tournament.

2. Bending, but not Breaking

After getting chased after four innings in the Big 12 Tournament, it was another shaky start for starting pitcher Camden Wicker, who was chased early after 3.2 innings and allowed 12 batters to get on base out of the 22 he faced. Three of those batters ended up reaching home, all of them doing so in the first inning.

"Yeah, obviously didn't start off the way that we all planned, right?" Wicker said on Saturday afternoon. "Like, got a couple infield hits and walked a couple guys, and you know, baseball got me in the first inning, but I felt like I battled and competed, and that offense, they gave me a shot, man."

Following those three runs, making it across, Wicker ended up stranding six Wolfpack runners before walking a pair of batters in the fourth inning, which got him pulled. The relief pitcher that took over for him, freshman Kaniel Rosado, gave up a walk of his own to load the bases, but a flyout on the following batter stranded three Wolfpack runners on base.

While Rosado and the following reliever, fellow freshman Max Murray, did not completely shut down NC State's batters, each giving up two hits and only getting one strikeout, they did force seven of the combined 17 batters they faced to ground out. They were also very efficient, getting through four innings with a combined 54 pitches while Wicker took 93 pitches to get through the first 3.2 innings.

Following the rain delay, however, Wallace had to bring in a fourth arm to get the final four outs, and he was not going to send Murray back out there again.

"[Murray's] too big to our program to run him out there on 10 hours rest," Wallace said.

So, redshirt freshman Anthony Lariz was tasked with finishing the Wolfpack off, which he did in 26 pitches, only allowing one hit and striking out a pair. Wallace said he "couldn't be more proud" of the Key West native.

Despite each pitcher facing struggles early on in their appearances, only once did they result in runners making it back to home plate, and it happened at a time when the offense had plenty of outs to make up the difference and build a lead of its own.

3. Bottom of the Lineup Production

While Williamson and the first third of the Knights' lineup did contribute most of UCF's offense on Friday night, they actually were not the ones who got the tying and go-ahead runs across.

The bottom two-thirds of the Knights' lineup may have only combined for four of the team's 11 total hits, but they made a majority of them count, with three of them being RBI hits.

Shortstop Jordan Lodise was the one who brought home the game-tying run thanks to the only non-Williamson homer of the night in the second inning.

The Knights then took the lead in the following inning after the one time Williamson could not get on base. That time, it was catcher Zak Skinner who brought Smith III home thanks to an RBI single, his only hit of the night.

The remaining two hits from the Knights' bottom six batting slots came from first baseman Landon Moran, who hit an RBI single to add an insurance run later in the third inning. He even reached third base on Saturday morning in the eighth inning, but a ground ball into a fielder's choice put the kibosh on the Knights reaching double digits.

Williamson might have been the one who got the nine-unanswered-run streak started and was the one to later pad out the lead to give the Knights' bullpen some security, but it was the bottom two-thirds of the lineup that mostly struggled in the batter's box most of the night that earned the game-tying and go-ahead runs across.

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Bryson Turner
BRYSON TURNER

Bryson Turner is a sports journalist who covers UCF Athletics. Turner has contributed to the Black and Gold Banneret, the home for UCF Athletics on SB Nation. He has called the Orlando area home since the age of 8 and received his bachelor's and master's degrees from UCF.

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