April 8, 2015
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By Nate Blythe
UCFKnights.com
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ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - In a tie game with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, UCF senior first baseman James Vasquez found himself in a familiar position and once again delivered a walk-off single up the middle. The base hit lifted the 12th-ranked Knights, 6-5, over Jacksonville on Tuesday night at the UCF Baseball Complex.
Just nine days earlier, the Palm City, Fla., native stepped up to the plate against No. 15 Houston (Mar. 29) in the same situation and provided UCF with a single up the middle to clinch the series on Championship Sunday.
The ninth inning for the Knights (24-10) was set up by senior shortstop Dylan Moore singling through the left side with one out and moving into scoring position with a stolen base. The Dolphins (15-17) then intentionally walked senior center fielder Derrick Salberg to provide a force at second base. A 3-1 base on balls was drawn by senior third baseman Tommy Williams to load the bases.
"My teammates set up the situation and I just wanted to put the ball in play," Vasquez said. "The ball was running away, so I told myself to go straight up the middle. I put a good swing on it and got the result that helped the team win."
Junior left-handed pitcher Harrison Hukari (4-1) notched the victory for the Knights by throwing the final three frames. Starter Ryan Meyer went four-plus innings and fanned three, while the middle two frames were tossed by senior lefty Parker Thomas, who struck out two.
"This was a good team win. It was a very good college baseball game and our second one-run win in a row," head coach Terry Rooney said. "Jacksonville has a great club and offensively, they just kept coming. Their bullpen did a terrific job. A lot of our guys contributed on the mound and we got some clutch hits when we really needed them."
Three runs were driven in by senior right fielder Erik Barber with a two-RBI single in the first inning and a sac fly in the fifth frame. Vasquez finished the contest with his sixth multi-RBI game of the season. Senior shortstop Dylan Moore scored three times and registered a pair of base hits.
The contest served as UCF's Pink at the Park Night and featured first pitches thrown by cancer survivors Kimmy Trivett, Mary Lou Bates (mother of Sam Bates) and Ann Tolleson (mother of Sam Tolleson).
Jacksonville was paced by Austin Hays, who drove in three runs, and Nathan Koslowski, who started the contest with a triple down the right field line. The loss was given to Michael Babb (0-1), while Gregg Shannahan and Parker Perez each recorded three strikeouts.
UCF welcomes UConn for a three-game set beginning on Friday at 6:30 p.m. The Knights and Huskies continue the series at 4 p.m. Saturday and finish it at 1 p.m. Sunday. Single-game tickets for the 2015 baseball season are currently on sale by clicking here or calling 407-823-1000.