{"id":2269,"date":"2026-05-31T16:07:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T16:07:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2269"},"modified":"2026-05-31T16:07:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T16:07:29","slug":"ucf-faces-must-win-showdown-in-regional-after-loss-to-milwaukee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2269","title":{"rendered":"UCF faces must-win showdown in regional after loss to Milwaukee"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>If UCF wanted to earn a spot in the finals of the NCAA\u2019s Auburn Regional, all the Knights had to do was slow down one of the hottest teams in college baseball in Milwaukee.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2267\">Gators ride record night at the plate to historic, NCAA Regional rout of rival Miami<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Instead, Rich Wallace\u2019s team found themselves shellshocked after the Panthers jumped out to an early 9-0 lead before cruising to a 13-6 win in Game 4 of the winner\u2019s bracket at Plainsman Park on Saturday night.<\/p>\n<p>The Knights (32-22) must face Auburn in a do-or-die showdown on Sunday at 3 p.m., with the winner earning a rematch with Milwaukee (27-31) in the finals at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought Milwaukee played an unbelievable game offensively and we helped them a little bit with some of the free stuff,\u201d said Wallace. \u201cWe have to figure out a way to come back tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>UWM, the winner of 22 of its last 30 games, entered Saturday\u2019s game batting .439 with two home runs and 12 RBIs in the regional after downing top-seed and host Auburn, 13-8, in the first game on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Milwaukee pitcher Aric Ehmke (6-6) kept UCF\u2019s offense in check, holding the Knights to just 2 runs on 4 hits in 5 innings before being replaced by reliever Cullen Riel.<\/p>\n<p>Right-hander Mateo Gray (5-2), who was making his 9th start of the season for UCF, struggled in the first inning after walking the lead-off runner and giving up a single, setting up an RBI double by UWM\u2019s Dylan O\u2019Connell.<\/p>\n<p>A hit-by-pitch loaded the bases for left fielder Bradyn Horn, who flied out to left field for a sacrifice fly, scoring another run. First baseman John Hadley lined into a double-play, ending the inning with the Panthers up 2-0.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The game was paused for about 20 minutes in the top of the second after home plate umpire Blake Felix was replaced after getting hit in the mask with a pitch. Travis Carlson, who was at second base, moved behind the plate.<\/p>\n<p>After the resumption of action, Ehmke struck out catcher Zak Skinner and third baseman Javier Crespo before getting first baseman Landon Moran to fly out.<\/p>\n<p>Grey\u2019s day ended in the second inning when he was lifted for reliever Kevin Schoneboom with a runner on second and one out. After a groundout, third baseman Grant Ross had an RBI double down the leftfield line to make it 3-0.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2265\">Asking Eric: My wife\u2019s children might wreck our marriage<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Designated hitter Stephen Chucka\u2019s hammered a ball into deep centerfield for a 2-RBI double to stretch the lead to 5-0.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Milwaukee broke the game open in the bottom of the third, thanks to back-to-back-to-back walks with the bases loaded, which scored three runs, while a wild pitch added another to stretch the UWM lead to 9-0. UCF made a pair of pitching changes in the inning with Max Murray and Evan Jones, but nothing seemed to work.<\/p>\n<p>UCF broke through in the top of the fifth after a two-out RBI single by DeAmez Ross scored the first run of the evening for the Knights. It was Ross\u2019 35th RBI of the season and made the score, 9-1.<\/p>\n<p>The Panthers answered in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run by Ross, his sixth homer of the season.<\/p>\n<p>UCF right fielder Andrew Williamson continued his strong postseason with another home run in the top of the sixth inning, his fourth over the past two games. The 443-foot blast was his 16th homer of the season. An RBI single by Moran cut the lead to 10-3.<\/p>\n<p>An RBI double by second baseman Austin Jacobs and an RBI ground out by DeAmez Ross pulled the Knights to within 10-6.<\/p>\n<p>UWM put the game away in the bottom of the eighth, scoring three more runs to extend the lead to 13-6.<\/p>\n<p>The Knights used six pitchers in the game, accounting for 13 runs on 9 hits with 9 walks and 8 strikeouts.<\/p>\n<p><strong>AUBURN REGIONAL SCHEDULE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>FRIDAY<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Game 1:<\/strong> Milwaukee 13, Auburn 8<\/p>\n<p><strong>Game 2:<\/strong> UCF vs. N.C. State (resumes on Saturday)<\/p>\n<p><strong>SATURDAY<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Game 3:<\/strong> Auburn 17, NC State 13; loser eliminated<\/p>\n<p><strong>Game 4:<\/strong> Milwaukee 13, UCF 6<\/p>\n<p><strong>SUNDAY<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Game 5:<\/strong> Auburn vs. UCF, 3 p.m.; loser eliminated<\/p>\n<p><strong>Game 6:<\/strong> Milwaukee vs. Game 5 winner, 8 p.m.<\/p>\n<p><strong>MONDAY<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Game 7:<\/strong> If necessary<\/p>\n<p><em>Please find me on X, Bluesky or Instagram @osmattmurschel. Email: mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com. Sign up for the Sentinel\u2019s Knights Weekly newsletter for a roundup of all our UCF coverage.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2264\">Last man standing: SEC\u2019s Greg Sankey resists rush toward 24-team CFP expansion<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Knights fell behind 9-0 to the Panthers before losing 13-6. The loss means the team must beat Auburn on Sunday to advance to the regional finals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college-sports","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>UCF faces must-win showdown in regional after loss to Milwaukee - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2269\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UCF faces must-win showdown in regional after loss to Milwaukee - Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Knights fell behind 9-0 to the Panthers before losing 13-6. 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