ORLANDO, Fla. - Gabriel Esquivel notched three RBIs, but North Florida baseball (20-25, 10-13 ASUN) dropped its midweek game against UCF (30-15, 11-12 Big 12), 7-4, on Tuesday evening.

UNF struck first in the second inning, as Cherokee Nichols led the inning off with a walk. Three batters later, Gabriel Esquivel cracked a two-run home run to put the Ospreys in front, 2-0.

The Knights responded quickly in the bottom of the second. UCF loaded up the bases and knocked UNF starter Brett Dennis out of the game. They rattled off three straight runs on an error, single, and double play.

In a 3-2 game, UNF rallied and took the lead in the fourth. Jakob Runnelsreached on a dropped third strike and Nichols walked. Connor Moore laid down a bunt single and the bases were loaded. Tyler Gerteisen tied the game on an RBI groundout, scoring Runnels. Esquivel then added his third RBI of the game on a ground ball to shortstop which gave UNF a 4-3 lead. 

The lead did not last for the Ospreys, as Lance Bolton allowed three straight hits to load the bases. Bolton then allowed a go-ahead grand slam to Anthony Calabro to push UCF ahead 7-4 in the fifth. Kaden Humphrey helped UNF limit the damage on defense in the later innings, but the Knights held on to the three-run lead until the game hit final.