On Sunday, April 19, in the rubber game in Orlando, the Cincinnati Bearcats won the series over No. 21 UCF, taking an 11-9 slugfest at John Euliano Park.
In the game, Jack Natili had his second three-home run outing of the year, Derrick Pitts knocked the go-ahead dinger in the ninth and Quinton Coats tied UC's single-season record for round-trippers with his 23rd.
Adam Buczkowski went the final 3 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts as UC's record improves to 27-15.
The win moved the Bearcats to No. 3 in the Big 12 baseball power rankings behind Kansas and West Virginia.
The ninth inning summed up a chippy series: Pitts, who sent the game-winner over the right-center wall, was ejected after releasing his bat a few feet in the direction of the Knights' first-base dugout. Natili followed with his third homer, and after engagements from the umpire rounding third, was challenged by UCF if he touched the bag, which was upheld.
The Pitts ejection will force the Bearcats to play minus the outfielder in their Tuesday, April 21, game at Wright State by NCAA rule.
There were some tensions at John Euliano Park on Sunday.Here is Cincinnati RF Derrick Pitts leaving the field after getting ejected late in the Bearcats’ rubber match against @UCF_Baseball. https://t.co/sN41ebilyG pic.twitter.com/qarpDVycJH
Natili, along with Coats, previously homered three times against Utah on March 21. He now has 13 round-trippers following nine last season and five for Rutgers his 2024 freshman season.
Coats is now tied with Mike Spina (2009) with 23 home runs. Buczkowski, who on Tuesday pitched a season-high 3 1/3 innings to earn the win against rival Xavier, upped the ante with another season-high in innings, as well as a career-high in strikeouts (previously five against Kansas State in 2025).
Three homers in one of our biggest wins of the season will get you things like this.Congrats, @JackNatili7! 🏅#TenGames pic.twitter.com/N66JmNlekZ
— Cincinnati Baseball (@GoBearcatsBASE) April 20, 2026
Thanks in part to his performance against UCF, Natili has been named the Big 12's Player of the Week following his four-game performance for the Bearcats this week.
Natili, who hit .357 and also homered against Xavier, became one of three players in the nation this year to go deep three times in multiple games. His other was against Utah on March 21.
Natili is second on the team in home runs (13) and RBI (47), both behind Coats.
He is the third Bearcat to claim Big 12 Player of the Week, as Coats earned the same twice over three weeks in March.
After the April 21 game at Wright State, the Bearcats host No. 12 West Virginia at UC Baseball Stadium April 24-26. All home games are televised on ESPN+.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: UC Bearcats baseball wins series vs. No. 21 UCF but loses ejected OF