ORLANDO – UCF freshman third baseman Drew Butera singled into right field in the bottom of the 12th inning to drive in Dee Brown for the game-winning run giving UCF a dramatic 10-9 comeback victory over Campbell Friday night at Jay Bergman Field. The Golden Knights had trailed 9-0 in the eighth inning before pulling off the biggest come-from-behind victory in Jay Bergman’s 21 years as head coach at UCF.
UCF improved to 4-1 on the year in extra innings with the victory. The Golden Knights are 21-11 overall and 6-4 in the A-Sun while Campbell dropped to 12-18, 7-12 in conference play.
Butera had a career-high three hits on the night as UCF pounded out 17 hits on the night. The Golden Knights also stranded a season-high 18 runners on base.
Campbell looked to be cruising to an easy 9-0 win entering the eighth inning. The Fighting Camels pounded UCF starting pitcher Taylor Cobb, scoring seven runs off the right-hander in just 2.1 innings of work. The big blow was a three-run home run by Derek Barrows in the first inning for Campbell.
Campbell added five more runs in the third and one in the eighth before UCF’s bats came alive. In the eighth, the Golden Knights tallied four runs on four hits as UCF sent 10 batters to the plate. P. J. Lehmann started the rally with a RBI-single to left center field giving UCF its first run of the night. Ryan Bono followed with a RBI-single and Butera doubled down the left field line to make the score 9-3 Campbell. Jon Cooper added an RBI-groundout to cut the Campbell lead to 9-4. UCF left the bases loaded in the frame as Ryan Bear struck out swinging.
After UCF reliever Matt Fox pitched a quick ninth inning, the Golden Knight bats came out smoking in the bottom of the ninth. UCF sent another 10 batters to the plate in the inning after pinch-hitter Rich Wallace started the comeback with an RBI-single through the left side on an 0-2 count to give UCF its fifth run of the night. Ryan Bono followed with a RBI-single up the middle to bring UCF to within three at 9-6. Later in the frame, David Mann hustled down the line to beat out an infield single to score Wallace making the score 9-7. After Cooper popped out to second for the first out in the inning, Clay Timpner walked with the bases loaded to slash the lead to 9-8. Ryan Bear followed Timpner with a sacrifice fly to right field on the first pitch he saw to bring home Butera, tying the contest at nine.
The game remained deadlocked at nine apiece as both teams had chances to score in extra innings. Campbell left two runners on base in the 10th and one in the 11th while UCF stranded two runners on base in the 11th also.
In the 12th, Brown started the inning getting hit by a pitch. Lehmann sacrificed Brown to second before Wallace looked to have the game-winning hit into right field, but Campbell second baseman Sal Deanda made an incredible diving stop to get Wallace out at first base. After an intentional walk to Ryan Bono, Butera made the Camels pay as he drilled the first pitch he saw into right field for the game-winning run.
UCF reliever Kyle Bono (4-1) pitched 2.2 innings of shutout relief allowing just two hits with four strikeouts for his fourth win of the season. Campbell reliever Tom Rispoli (0-1) was saddled with the loss for Campbell.