GREENVILLE, N.C. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF baseball team got back in the win column Thursday, overcoming a six-run deficit to defeat East Carolina in 11 innings at Clark-LeClair Stadium.
UCF head coach Greg Lovelady was impressed with the team for not giving up when they faced adversity early in the game.
"I was proud of the guys, we could have easily rolled over," Lovelady said. "I felt like in the dugout, we never thought we were out of it. We made a lot of mistakes tonight... but we just kept competing."
The Pirates had opened up a 7-1 lead after a hitting grand slam in the fourth inning. But the Knights went to work, and began chipping away at the six-run advantage.
The Knights cut into the lead in the top of the fifth, when right fielder Eli Putnam delivered his second-straight ground-rule double. Left fielder Kyle Marsh stepped up and hit a bomb, well over the 400-foot wall in center field. First baseman Rylan Thomas immediately followed up with a solo-shot of his own, making it 7-4.
It was the fourth long ball of the year for Marsh and the eighth for Thomas. The last time a pair of Knights hit back-to-back home runs was Putnam and Sam Tolleson at UConn last May.
UCF added another run in the sixth, getting singles from catcher Anthony George, Putnam, and second baseman Matthew Mika. George scored from second on Mika's single before Putnam was thrown out at third to end the half inning.
Down 7-5 heading into the ninth, it was do or die for the Black and Gold. Putnam got things started with a one-out single, his fourth hit of the game, and outfielder Josh Moser came on to pinch run. Mika was then awarded first after taking a pitch on the shoulder and the tying run was aboard.
Next up was Marsh, who hit a slow chopper to short. The only play was to first and Moser and Mika moved up to second and third on the play. With two outs, the Knights RBI leader Thomas stepped up to the plate. He fell behind in the count 1-2 but then dropped a Texas-league single into right field. Moser and Mika both scored and game was tied at seven.
Right-hander Bryce Tucker came on in the ninth for the Knights, and gave up just one hit and notched three strikeouts in three innings of work. All told, UCF relievers posted seven and two-thirds scoreless innings to aid in the comeback.
In the top of the 11th, Mika led off with a single and moved to second on a deep fly ball out. With two outs, Infielder Ryan Crile drew a pinch-hit walk before short stop Brennan Bozeman punched an RBI single to right field to give his team an 8-7 lead.
Tucker then took the Pirates down in order in the bottom of the 11th, with two pop ups and a ground out to seal the victory.
First pitch for game two is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday, with Saturday's series finale set for noon. Listen to every pitch on iHeart Radio and FM 96.9 The Game, with the voice of the Knights, Marc Daniels on the call. Fans can also click here to follow along via live stats or watch a live stream via the ECU website.
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