ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – For the second straight night, the No. 23 UCF baseball team mounted a furious comeback at John Euliano Park. In game two of the weekend series against Wagner, the Knights rallied with eight runs in the eighth inning to beat the Seahawks 10-8.
"We just had a lot of energy," assistant coach Justin Parker said. "We let the game come to us a little bit more in that inning than we had previously. Good things happened to us. We worked our way into good counts. We were able to work through a couple of their bullpen guys, and we didn't let them get settled. That's something we took advantage of, and it worked out for us. For guys that haven't pitched a bunch, I was proud of how Jeff and Jack did a nice job on the mound to give us a chance. "
The Knights (7-3) found themselves trailing 8-0 through four innings of play, but the Black and Gold pulled two back in the bottom of the fifth. Down by six heading into the eighth, Brandon Hernandez started the rally with an RBI single to center field. During the next at-bat, Jackson Webb sprinted home on a wild pitch to shave the deficit to four, before Rylan Thomas drew a bases-loaded walk.
Matthew Mika laced a double off the wall in left, mere feet from his first career grand slam, to bring in a pair of runners. Then with two runners in scoring position, Dallas Beaver gave the Knights the lead with a 2-RBI single to right field. Jackson Webb later plated pinch runner Max Wood from second for an insurance run.
KEY STATS
No. 23 UCF (7-3) – 10, Wagner (3-5) – 8
Winning pitcher: Jeffrey Hakanson (1-0)
Losing pitcher: Freddy Sabido (0-1)
Top performers: Jeffrey Hakanson (2 IP, 5 K, 0 H), Matthew Mika (3-4, 3 RBI, 1 R), Dallas Beaver (3-5, 2 RBI)
ROOKIES ROLL
• Freshmen Jack Sinclair and Jeffrey Hakanson came on in relief to steady the ship for UCF.
• Combined, the duo only allowed just two hits after the fourth inning
• Sinclair worked through 2 1/3 inning with three strikeouts, while scattering three hits and allowing one run.
• Hakanson earned his first career win behind a five-strikeout performance over two innings.
TUCKER TIME
• After the Knights seized momentum in the eighth, the Black and Gold turned to Bryce Tucker to close out the game.
• The lefty needed 16 pitches to retire the side in order for his first save of the year.
• Tucker became the seventh player in program history to notch 10 saves in a career.
NOTABLES
• The Knights improved their record against Wagner to 17-0.
• UCF's win streak is up to six games.
• Thomas added to his team-leading RBI total with 14 this season.
• The eight-run comeback was the largest rally since April 21, 2009, when the Black and Gold battled back from 10 runs down against Stetson.
• Mika drove in a trio of runs from the cleanup spot.
UP NEXT
The Knights will look to complete their second straight sweep on Sunday at 1 p.m. UCF will send Jordan Spicer to the mound, while the Wagner starter has not been announced.
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.
GET THE APP
Never miss any UCF Knights news from your favorite team by downloading the free UCF Knights app right to your iOS or Android phone! The app provides personalized information for men's and women's teams, scores, schedules, loyalty programs and even breaking news.
FOLLOW THE KNIGHTS
Follow UCF Baseball on social media on Facebook (/UCF.Baseball), Twitter (UCF_Baseball) and Instagram (UCF.Baseball).
