BOCA RATON, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – Powered by a three-home run night by Dalton Wingo, the UCF baseball team outlasted FAU on the road on Tuesday night to win 13-10. The victory gave the Knights at least one win over every team from the Sunshine State on its schedule.
“I’m really proud of the offense today,” head coach Greg Lovelady said. “Wingo had an unbelievable night with three home runs on four hits. Beaver and Osik both hit big home runs for us. We needed to score a lot of runs today. We’ve talked about winning games in different ways, and today was one of those where you had to outslug the other team. Luis got a huge out for us in the sixth, before Westberg was lights out. It’s a big win against a regional team. I’m proud of how the guys didn’t give up. They kept competing and found a way to win the game tonight.”
Wingo’s mammoth game was mixed into a gamed defined by streaks. The Knights saw an early seven-run lead erased by the fifth inning.
UCF struck quickly in the first inning. After the Knights loaded the bases with no outs, Dallas Beaver grounded into an RBI fielder’s choice to open the scoring. On the next at-bat Dalton Wingo belted a three-run home run over the wall in left field to make it 4-0 in favor of the visitors.
Two innings later, UCF tacked on a trio of insurance runs by way of the long ball. Tyler Osik made his way to second on a one-out double, before Beaver blasted a two-run homer to right field. Wingo then notched his first career multi-home run game with a solo shot left field on the next at-bat.
FAU made a dent in the Knights’ lead in the bottom of the third. The Owls plated five runs on five hits.
Ray Alejo gave the Black and Gold a little more breathing space an inning later. The redshirt junior drove a first pitch down the wall in left for an RBI double to open a three-run lead, only for the Owls to tie the game up at 8-8 with a trio of runs in the bottom of the fourth.
Starter Chris Williams cruised through the opening two frames, before FAU battled back over the next two frames. The righty made his exit after four innings of work with five strikeouts and a pair of walks.
After Zack Hunsicker dealt a clean fifth inning, the Knights retook the lead in the top of the sixth. Following singles by Anthony George and Matthew Mika, Tyler Osik delivered his 10th homer of the campaign, a three-run shot, over the wall in left.
The Owls continued to battle, pulling a run back in the bottom of the sixth and seventh.
Wingo then put a cap on the game in the top of the eighth. The sophomore smashed a 1-0 delivery, his first two came on first pitches, to left to bring in two more runs to make it 13-10.
UCF left the game in the hands of Garrett Westberg. The senior mowed down the FAU order over his 2 2/3 innings of action. The righty allowed just two runners to reach, as he fanned three without surrendering a hit or a walk.
UCF (32-19) – 13, FAU (34-18) – 10
Winning pitcher: Zack Hunsicker (3-1)
Losing pitcher: Michael Schuler (3-1)
Save: Garrett Westberg (3)
Top hitters: Dalton Wingo (4-5, 6 RBI, 3 HR), Dallas Beaver (3-5, 3 RBI, 3 R, 1 HR), Tyler Osik (2-4, 3 RBI, 2 R, 1 HR), Ray Alejo (2-6, 1 RBI, 1 R)
Top pitchers: Zack Hunsicker (1 IP, 1 H, 0 R), Garrett Westberg (2.2 IP, 3 K, 0 H, 0 R)
GOING, GOING, GONE
• Tuesday night marked the 12th multi-home run game of the year for the Knights and the sixth with at least three.
• Wingo is just the second Knight to have a multi-home run game this season, behind Dallas Beaver, who has two this season.
• UCF now has six 50-home run campaigns in the last 10 years.
• The five home runs set a new season high for the Knights. The last time UCF belted five homers in a game came last year against Chicago State.
DINGO DINGERS
• Dalton Wingo became the first Knight to hit three home runs in a game since Chad Ehrnsberger did it at Samford on April 6, 2001.
• The three home runs also tied the school single-game record, which was accomplished three times prior to Tuesday night.
• Wingo also notched career highs in RBI with six and hits with four.
NOTES
• UCF leads the all-time series 44-36.
• Ray Alejo picked up his team-leading 70th hit of the year.
• Chris Williams became just the 11th pitcher in program history to amass 200 punchouts in a career.
• UCF improved to 14-1 in midweek contests.
• The Knights went 15-1 against foes from the Sunshine State in 2019.
• Wingo and Beaver also recorded the second set of back-to-back homers this year.
UP NEXT
Firmly back in the postseason discussion, the Knights will close out the regular season at home this weekend against Houston, starting Thursday at 6 p.m. The series will be the last at John Euliano Park for the 10 senior members of the 2019 squad, who will celebrate Senior Knights on Saturday in a pregame ceremony.
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