March 26, 2006
FORT WORTH, Texas - Sophomore center fielder Tyson Auer led off the 10th inning with a bunt single and scored the game-winning run on a balk as visiting UCF defeated TCU 5-3 in 10 innings Sunday afternoon at Lupton Stadium. The Golden Knights earned the series victory and moved to 2-1 on the season in extra-inning games.
Auer had a big afternoon for the Golden Knights (16-11), going 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored as UCF out-hit the Horned Frogs (12-14), 10-7.
The game was scoreless until the fifth inning when UCF scored two runs. Auer drilled a two-run triple with two outs to give the Golden Knights a 2-0 advantage.
TCU scored single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to even the score at two.
UCF went ahead 3-2 in the top of the ninth inning on a two-out, RBI-double by freshman shortstop Eric Kallstrom.
TCU answered with an unearned run in the bottom of the ninth on RBI-single by Bryan Kervin to even the score at three.
In the top of the 10th, Auer started the rally with a bunt single. After a sacrifice bunt by senior catcher Ryan Bono moved Auer to second, a wild pitch advanced Auer to third before he walked home on a balk by TCU reliever Omar Arif.
Freshman right fielder Dave DiNatale provided an insurance run with a RBI-single to pad the lead to 5-3. DiNatale ended the day with two hits while fellow freshman Kiko Vazquez also contributed two hits for the victors.
Senior reliever Dominic Petracca (2-0) pitched 3.1 innings for the victory. The Sanford native yielded one unearned run - the first run to score vs. Petracca this season - along with three strikeouts. Petracca has tossed 22.1 innings this season out of the UCF bullpen.
UCF returns home Tuesday to face local rival Stetson. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. from Jay Bergman Field. Tickets are available for the game by calling 407-823-1000.