ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — UCF baseball is wrapping the regular season this weekend with a three-game home series against Kansas State. The Knights reached 30 regular-season wins on Thursday night when they rallied in the seventh inning and defeated Kansas State 10-6 in the opener of that series.

UCF seeks to continue building on those victories and go back to the NCAA Tournament.

The series closes with games at 6 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday. Then the Big 12 Tournament will start Tuesday in Arizona.

“It’s been a tough group, a resilient group. They’ll make it through this stretch and excited to see how they attack the rest of the year,” UCF baseball coach Rich Wallace said.

The Knights began Big 12 play red hot at 10-2. They’ve cooled off a little bit in the back half of conference play, but they are 10-6 in their past 16 games.

“Season as a whole has been really good. The body of work that we’ve been able to do in conference has been very good. We just have to get keeping better,” UCF junior outfielder and St. Petersburg native Andrew Williamson said.

Williamson has become a staple in the Knights’ lineup. He is on pace to play in at least 50 games for the third consecutive year. As a sophomore last year, he was a Big 12 honorable mention. 

“It’s been amazing — especially not being too far from home,” Williamson said. “It’s been nice being able to play for a Florida team and having this place as my home. It’s been such a blessing. It’s been super cool and I’m so thankful for it.”

This year, he’s putting up video game-like stats once again. His on-base-plus slugging (OPS) is over 1.000 for the second straight year, and he has 11 home runs this season.

“We’re fortunate that your best player is one of your best people, best workers, best teammates. That’s a very special thing,” Wallace said. “And he’s kind of getting rewarded for the way he goes about his work.”

Another Florida native, John Smith III, transferred to UCF from South Alabama. Since Smith got back to the Sunshine State, he leads the Knights with 12 home runs this season.

“I’ve always been a good hitter, but I’ve wanted to learn how to fully use my potential. They’ve done that so far since I stepped foot here,” Smith said.

“I lived it, right. So the fact that you’re playing at home in front of your own, not only fans, but your own family and friends and everybody can come see every home game, this place truly does become home,” Wallace said.

UCF starts its final three-game set of the regular season on Thursday night against Kansas State, looking to secure a double bye in the conference tournament.