After winning their first game via a walk-off home run, the UCF Knights Baseball team lost to the USF Bulls 15-4, getting run-ruled in the 8th inning Thursday.

After keeping it tied 2-2 through the end of the 4th, the game got out of hand in the top of the fifth when the Knights gave up seven runs. USF would then add two runs in each of the next three innings to end the game early.

The main culprit for the Knights’ loss was the struggles of the pitching staff. Starter Ruddy Gomez was pulled after two innings, in which he gave up three hits and one run, and things continued to get worse. The Knights would use seven pitchers, who gave up a total of 19 hits. None of them would go onto the pitch for longer than three innings. In the fifth inning alone five different pitchers were used.

After the game, Head Coach Greg Lovelady would sum up the Knights’ performance when he said, “Obviously not a great performance, we didn’t play very well.”

What’s Next

Despite the loss, the Knights are not finished yet. They are now scheduled to play Friday at 1 p.m. against the #1 seed — and #14 team in the country — the ECU Pirates. A win in that game would move UCF on to the semifinals, where they would have to beat South Florida twice in order to reach the conference championship game on Sunday.

A loss, however, would end the season.

The game will be televised on ESPN+.