ORLANDO, Fla. – The University of Arizona baseball team jumped out to an early lead but couldn't hold off UCF, falling 11-6 Friday night in the opener of a three-game series at John Euliano Park.

The Wildcats (9-16, 2-5) totaled seven hits, including three home runs, while UCF racked up 12 hits on the night.

Owen Kramkowski was charged with the loss after allowing five runs in his outing, while Braden Smith earned the win for the Knights.

Tony Lira continued his strong play at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Nate Novitske, Carson McEntire, and Jackson Forbes each homered in the contest.

Arizona struck first with a two-run opening frame. After Andrew Cain drew a leadoff walk, a double play left the Wildcats with no runners on and two outs. Lira lined a single back up the middle to keep the inning alive, bringing Novitske up to bat. The redshirt freshman blasted a two-run shot to right field, his second home run of the season, to give Arizona an early 2-0 advantage.

UCF answered in the bottom of the second with a two-run homer to even the score, then seized control with a three-run third inning to take a 5-2 lead.

The Wildcats chipped away at the deficit in the fifth, as McEntire launched a solo home run to left field, but the Knights responded in the bottom half to push the lead back to three.

Arizona trimmed the deficit again in the seventh after Caleb Danzeisen reached on an infield single, and McEntire came around to score on the play to make it 6-4.

UCF answered once more in the bottom of the inning, plating two runs to extend its lead to 8-4.

The Wildcats continued to fight in the eighth, as Forbes crushed a two-run homer to right-center field to cut the deficit to 8-6; however, the Knights delivered another blow in the bottom half of the frame with a three-run home run to pull away for good.

Arizona will look to even the series against UCF on Saturday, with first pitch set for 3 p.m. (MST) at John Euliano Park.