ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – Trailing by one heading to the bottom of the 14th inning, the UCF baseball needed something special to mount a comeback against No. 26 Oklahoma on Friday night at John Euliano Park. The Knights delivered.
UCF rallied with two runs, capped by a Matthew Mika walk-off infield single to lift the Knights to a 5-4 win in extra innings at John Euliano Park.
"That was crazy," head coach Greg Lovelady said. "We had opportunities to score runs, but the guys kept competing when things didn't go our way. On the mound, Thad and JJ were tremendous. They gave us a shot win. That was a tough, tough team we just beat with some really great arms. We did a great job of trying to pass the bat. Max came up with the huge sac fly, before Mika won it for us with that hit. That's a long game. I'm really proud of all the guys for finding a way to win the game."
The Knights faced an uphill battle after the top of the 14th when Cade Cavallli put Oklahoma ahead with a solo home run to left field. In the bottom half, Ray Alejo singled through the right side to put two on with no outs, after Dallas Beaver drew a leadoff walk. Chandler Robertson took a five-pitch walk to load the bases. Senior Max Wood drove a sacrifice fly deep to center with plenty of distance to bring in Brandon Hernandez from third and tie the game.
On the next at-bat, Mika lined the first pitch he saw down the first base line, and Oklahoma first baseman Brady Lindsly could only dive and knock it down. Ray Alejo darted in from third to give the Knights another series-opening victory.
Prior to that offensive outburst, pitching dominated the game for eight innings. After UCF tied the game in the fifth on an RBI from Dallas Beaver, Thad Ward shut down the Sooners offense for the next six innings. The righty did not allow a hit and struck out eight. Ward came on in relief for starter Cre Finfrock. The redshirt junior took a no-decision after five innings with five strikeouts and four hits, three runs, one earned.
JJ Montgomery carried the Black and Gold over the final three innings. The Indianapolis, Ind., native fanned five and allowed four hits. Montgomery earned his sixth win of the year and his second straight victory out of the bullpen.
The pitching staff did not allow a hit for eight innings between the fifth and the 13th. Oklahoma had just four hits through the first 12 innings.
KEY STATS
UCF (33-17) – 5, No. 26 Oklahoma (31-19) – 4
Winning pitcher: JJ Montgomery (6-4)
Losing pitcher: Dylan Grove (2-2)
Top performers: Thad Ward (6 IP, 8 K, 1 BB). JJ Montgomery (3 IP, 5 K, 4 H, 1 ER), Dallas Beaver (3-5, 2 RBI, 1 R, 2 BB), Rylan Thomas (2-6, 1 RBI, 1 R), Matthew Mika (3-6, 1 RBI, 1 BB)
EARLY SCORES
The Knights opened the scoring with a pair of long bass to take a two lead. Rylan Thomas crushed an 0-1 offering in the first well over the bullpen in left for a solo shot. Two innings later, Dallas Beaver sliced a homer through the wind and over the wall in right in the first. After the visitors took a 3-2 advantage in the top of the fifth, Beaver responded with an RBI single to left that brought in Logan Heiser.
THAD THUNDERS
• Ward finished the game with eight strikeouts, tied for his second highest total this season.
• The junior has not surrendered a run in his last 12 2/3 innings.
• Ward has a 1.69 ERA out of the bullpen this season with 49 punchouts. His season total is a team-leading 81 strikeouts.
NOTABLES
• The Knights took the lead in the all-time series at 3-2.
• UCF is 5-0 this season in extra-inning games.
• The pitching staff finished with 18 strikeouts, one shy of tying the program record set against Bethune-Cookman on March 21, 2017.
• UCF has tallied 15 punchouts in five games this season.
• The Black and Gold have recorded 10 hits in 20 games.
• Beaver's home run was the seventh of his career and sixth this season.
• Beaver has brought in multiple RBI in seven games this season.
• Thomas launched career home run No. 27 on Friday night, moving him into sole possession of ninth place in the career record book.
• The Black and Gold set the program single-game record with 19 strikeouts.
UP NEXT
The Knights and Sooners will square off on Saturday for game two of the weekend series. Chris Williams will get the ball for the Black and Gold, and Levi Prater will head to the mound for Oklahoma. First pitch has been moved up to 5 p.m.
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