ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - Rylan Thomas stepped up to the plate with two on and two outs in the bottom of the ninth with the game tied. With one swing of the bat, the sophomore drove a ball over the wall in right-center to lift the No. 23 UCF baseball team to a 6-3 win over Wagner at John Euliano Park on Friday night.
"We showed a lot of fight tonight to be able to come back in the ninth and win the game," head coach Greg Lovelady said. "I was proud of the guys. Garrett Westberg started the rally by coming in the top of the ninth with a lot of energy. We've had a couple of tough losses where we had the tying run on third, but you could tell the guys were prepared for this. They weren't going to give up. Rylan wanted a home run in the first inning, so I'm glad he got it in the ninth."
UCF (6-3) trailed the Seahawks (3-4) by one heading to the bottom of the ninth. Chandler Robertson reached first on a hit by pitch, and Max Wood replaced his fellow Canadian as a pinch runner. After advancing on a sacrifice bunt by Jackson Webb, Wood flew home on an RBI single up the middle by Brandon Hernandez to tie the game. Dallas Beaver singled up the middle two batters later to advance a runner into scoring position. Then, Thomas hammered a 2-0 offering out of the park to extend the UCF winning streak to five games.
The fireworks at the end capped a back-and-forth contest. The Knights scored their first two runs of the game on sacrifice flies. After falling behind in the third inning, Thomas brought in Griffin Bernardo on a deep fly to center field to tie the game in the bottom half of the frame. Robertson later gave the Black and Gold the lead in the sixth with ball hit to the Wagner left fielder. Thomas narrowly beat the throw home to make it 2-1 in favor of UCF. The Seahawks responded with a pair of scores in the seventh to go back in front, only for the Knights to rally in the ninth.
KEY STATS
No. 23 UCF (6-3) - 6, Wagner (3-4) - 3
Winning pitcher: Garrett Westberg (1-0)
Losing Pitcher: Nick Robino (0-1)
Top performers: Rylan Thomas (1-3, 4 RBI, 1 HR, 2 R), Dallas Beaver (2-4, 1 R), Brandon Hernandez (2-4, 1 RBI, 1 R)
TOUTING THOMAS
* Thomas went 1-for-3 at the plate with four RBI.
* Friday marked Thomas' third career four-RBI performance.
* The sophomore extended his career-long on-base streak to 17 games, while driving his hit streak to seven games, one shy of his career long.
WESTY FOR THE WIN
* Garrett Westberg entered the game in the top of the ninth for just his second appearance for UCF.
* The Federal Way, Wash., native needed only 10 pitches to retire the side in order, including a strikeout to finish the frame.
* For his efforts, Westberg notched his first career win.
NOTABLES
* The Knights remain perfect against Wagner (16-0).
* Thomas' walk-off home run was the first for the Black and Gold since May 6, 2016, when Brooks Morgan hit one against Cincinnati.
* Brandon Hernandez recorded the second multi-hit game of his career.
* Joe Sheridan came out of the bullpen for the first time since March 14, 2017, against Bradley.
DON'T MISS THE ACTION
Season and single-game tickets for UCF Baseball are on sale. Featuring a 36-game home schedule, John Euliano Park is set to host some of the best collegiate baseball in the country. For more information on tickets call 407-823-1000 or log on to ticketmaster.com.
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