TALLAHASSEE – Ryan Bono blasted a three-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning to lead third-seeded UCF past second-seeded Oklahoma State 12-9 Saturday night in Tallahassee. No. 20 UCF improved to 46-17 overall with the win while No. 24 Oklahoma State’s season ended at 38-24. The 46 wins for UCF tie for fourth-best in UCF single-season history.
With the win, UCF advanced to the regional championship Sunday at 1:30 p.m. vs. top-seeded Florida State. The Golden Knights must defeat the Seminoles twice to advance to the Super Regionals.
No. 24 Oklahoma State scored first with one run in the top of the first inning when Rusty Ryal was hit by a pitch to start the game and later scored on a RBI groundout by Jason Jaramillo.
The 20th-ranked Golden Knights came right back with two runs in the bottom of the first including a RBI double by Dee Brown and a RBI single from Ryan Bono to hand UCF a 2-1 lead.
Rod Allen tied the game at two in the second with a double to the gap in right center for the Cowboys.
The early scoring continued in the second when David Mann doubled and later scored on a RBI single by Jon Cooper to give the Golden Knights a 3-2 lead.
UCF added one run in the fourth when Mann beat out an infield single and OSU first baseman Thomas Incaviglia missed the throw at first base to allow Kevin Richmond to score on the play.
A wild pitch in the fifth scored Dee Brown to give the Golden Knights a 5-2 lead. Brown scored from third after the left fielder started the inning with a double to left center. Following a walk to Marshall Bernhard, Chandler Rose doubled to the gap in right center on a hit-and-run to score Bernhard, giving the Golden Knights a 6-2 lead.
After a one hour, 35-minute weather delay, play resumed in the fifth as Mann grounded out to short to end the inning.
The delay proved to be too much for Meier, as he hit the first two batters of the inning. After getting two outs, Meier threw a ball away on a tapper back to the mound, allowing two runs to score on the error. The two-out error haunted the Golden Knights as reliever Tim Bascom yielded a RBI double by Ty Wright to cut the UCF lead to 6-5.
Meier had an outstanding outing, allowing five runs (two earned), five hits and he tied a career-high with seven strikeouts. Prior to the delay, Meier retired seven of the final nine batters he faced.
UCF got one run back in the sixth on a monster home run by Clay Timpner to give the Golden Knights a 7-5 lead. The home run was Timpner’s team-leading sixth of the season.
OSU closed the gap to 7-6 in the seventh on a RBI single by Rod Allen.
UCF added two insurance runs in the eighth. Ryan Bono doubled down the right field line to score Drake Wade and Marshall Bernhard drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to give UCF a 9-6 advantage heading into the ninth.
Oklahoma State was down to its final strike with two outs in the ninth, but Ryal laced a three-run double to left center to tie the game at nine.
UCF’s first three batters walked in the 10th, but Timpner was thrown out stealing. Bono’s blast came on a 2-2 count and was his first career walk-off home run on any level.
Brown was 3-for-4 with four runs scored while Timpner finished 2-for-5 with two runs scored. Bono drove in a career-high five RBI and recorded three hits for the victors.
Freshman southpaw Brian Brooks will get the start Sunday at 1:30 p.m. vs. Mark Sauls of Florida State. UCF must win two games Sunday to advance to Super Regional play. Both games of the doubleheader will air live on Sunshine Network.
UCF Post-Game Quotes
UCF Head Coach Jay Bergman
"There's really nothing to say. The game spoke for itself. It would have been so easy after the disappointing loss in the afternoon to Florida State in the 3-2 game to just pack it in but our kids chose the other alternative. You really have to commend them. I don't remember a situation in all my years of coaching where I had a team that just laid it out there all day long. My hat is off to them. I didn't coach. They just played and did a great job."
UCF catcher Ryan Bono
"I was just really trying to make solid contact with runners on first and second. I just wanted to hit a single, really. He started me off with a couple of tough pitches he was throwing me and then he came with a fastball up and in. Luckily I turned on it and it did well for me. I am really excited about it. That is the biggest hit of my life so far. It was a big win tonight and I enjoyed it. It moves us onto the championship game and it has really picked us up. I hope we can do it tomorrow and win two games."
Game Notes: Dee Brown has 64 RBI on the year, tied for ninth in UCF single-season history … UCF is 14-0 when Chandler Rose starts at first base … Bono’s walk-off home run was the first for UCF since Clay Timpner hit a walk-off homer vs. Monmouth (2/24/02) … UCF advanced to its first regional final since 2001 at South Carolina.