The FAU baseball squad (16-10, 3-3 C-USA) went to Orlando Tuesday evening, suffering a disappointing 13-1 loss to the University of Central Florida (UCF) Knights (15-10).

Prior to the game, both teams had a moment of silence for FAU softball coach Joan Joyce, who died on March 26.

UCF wasted no time distancing themselves from FAU, firing nine runs onto the scoreboard in the second inning. Freshman outfielder Lex Boedicker, redshirt junior Ben McCabe, and freshman infielder Cole Russo each hit a single to right field to get the first three. Sophomore infielder Alex Freeland got a double to right-center field that drove three runners to home plate, redshirt senior infielder Noah Orlando had a sac fly that took Freeland home, and Boedicker received two RBIs following a double.

Redshirt senior right-hander and starting pitcher Brock Helverson came off the mound after 1 ⅓ innings for redshirt sophomore left-hander Marc DeGusipe to check in. Helverson had 40 pitches, forced a flyout and a groundout. DeGusipe only earned two outs for the Owls, letting freshman right-hander Bryan Boully enter the match to begin the third.

The Owls got a run back in the top of the fourth inning thanks to sophomore left fielder Dylan Goldstein. Goldstein batted a home run to right-center field, earning his seventh of the season.   

In the bottom of the fourth, however, the Knights responded by scoring three runs. McCabe hit a double down left field to bring Boedicker and Orlando home. Freeland had an unearned run to score the third run for UCF.

After pitching the fourth inning, freshman right-hander Dawson Ball exited the game as sophomore right-hander Nicholas Del Prado subbed in. Ball threw 30 pitches and drew a flyout.

Freeland had the last run of the game for the Knights in the fifth inning via an unearned run due to Del Prado throwing a wild pitch.

In total, FAU played eight pitchers throughout the game but couldn’t find a rhythm on both sides of the field.

The Owls will travel to their next destination in Houston, Texas, to take on Rice University for a three-game set from April 1-3. The series will be broadcast on C-USA TV.

Richard Pereira is the Business Manager for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @Rich26Pereira.