UCF Walks Off K-State in Regular-Season Finale, 6-5

Saturday, May 16

Orlando, Fla.

12 p.m.

Kansas State University

28-26, 11-19

UCF

31-20, 19-11

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Kansas State	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	1	5	9	1
UCF	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	1	2	6	10	0

May 16, 2026 | Baseball

Box Score

ORLANDO, Fla. – Pinch hitter Stephen Chucka's game-tying solo home run sparked a ninth-inning rally Saturday afternoon, as UCF walked off K-State, 6-5, at John Euliano Park.

UCF (31-20, 19-11 Big 12) trailed 5-4 heading into the bottom of the ninth after K-State regained the lead with a sacrifice fly ball to center from Grant Gallagher. Chucka led off the inning with his first home run of the season and second game-changing pinch-hit of the series to tie the game. With two outs and runners on first and third, UCF capitalized on a throwing error to walk it off and secure the conference series.

"Unbelievably disappointed. We had some great performances and big moments today," head coach Pete Hughes said following the regular season finale. "We're all frustrated with the ninth inning, but we left a lot runs out there multiple times earlier on in that game."

"We had bases loaded with one out and didn't score. We had first and second with no outs and didn't score. We had a leadoff double that did not lead to a run. They all add up. We had our guy on the mound at the end, and they got a big hit, but we had our chances," added Hughes.

K-State finishes the regular season with an overall record of 28-26 with an 11-19 Big 12 record, to enter the 2026 Big 12 Baseball Championships as the No. 11 seed and will face 10^th-seeded Utah (26-24, 12-18 Big 12) at 8 p.m. PT/10 p.m. CT at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. The entire 12-team championship field will be announced at conclusion of the league's final game on Saturday.

THE RUNDOWN
K-State opened scoring for the third straight game, as Dee Kennedy was hit by the first pitch of the afternoon and moved into scoring position with a single to shallow left field by Ty Smolinski, who produced a two-homer night in game two. The duo moved up 90 feet on a deep fly ball to left field from Carlos Vasquez before AJ Evasco drove in Kennedy with a groundout to second for a 1-0 lead.

UCF broke through in the second after taking advantage of two walks and a sacrifice bunt, leading to a sacrifice fly from Jordan Lodise that tied the game, 1-1.

After a scoreless third inning, Ty Smolinski delivered a two-out double to right center to push K-State back in front and score Shintaro Inoue, who singled in his third consecutive at-bat.

The Knights responded in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run from Javier Crespo, before UCF broke the tie in the sixth with an RBI double by Lodise.

Trailing 3-2, Kyan Lodice erased the deficit with one swing, launching a pinch-hit solo blast — K-State's 85th home run of the season – 400 feet to right-center. Gallagher followed in the next at-bat with a single to center and advanced to third on a wild pitch and groundout to short. With one out, Cadyn Karl hit through the left side to pull ahead, 4-3.

UCF added a run in the eighth to make it a 4-4 ball game heading into the ninth.

AJ Evasco and Bear Madliak each walked before Lodice laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position. With one out, Gallagher lifted a sacrifice fly to center field and scored pinch runner Rohan Putz for a one-run advantage. However, the lead was short-lived, as UCF rallied behind Chucka's solo blast to secure the series win.

INSIDE THE BOX

UCF scored six runs on 10 hits, committed no errors and left eight men on base, while K-State scored five runs on nine hits, had one error and stranded 12 runners on base.
Seven of 11 batters contributed a hit for K-State, led by two from Inoue and Smolinski.
UCF's Moran went 3-for-4 to lead Saturday's contest.
K-State had five players drive in an RBI, while UCF had three with Lodise producing a game-leading three.
K-State had a leadoff man reach base in four of the first five innings.
James Guyette (6-4) suffered the loss, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits over 2/3 innings.
Max Murray (5-2) was credited the victory in relief, logging three outs in the ninth.

TEAM NOTES

UCF leads the all-time series 5-4 with a 4-2 lead in games played in Orlando.
K-State's 85 home runs in 2026 ranks third all-time in the program's history. All five top home run seasons have been in the Hughes era.
K-State finished the regular season 28-26 overall, marking the seventh consecutive winning-regular season under Hughes.

PLAYER NOTES

Lodice became the 12^th player this season to produce a multi-home run season.

– k-statesports.com –

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