ORLANDO – UCF got a pinch-hit home run from Andrew Estrella in the ninth and 5.0 impressive innings of relief from Dominic Castellano, but it wasn’t enough as Texas Tech held on to take Saturday’s finale by a score of 3-2.
Holding to a 2-1 advantage late in the game, Texas Tech picked up an insurance run in the top of the ninth for what proved to be the difference. After having just two baserunners reach base since the fifth inning, the Red Raiders managed to load the bases and pick up a run on a sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth to take a 3-1 advantage. The Knights countered right back, however, with a no-doubt pinch-hit bomb off the bat of Estrella to start the last of the ninth, but TTU’s Cole Kaase came on and retired the next three Black and Gold batters he faced to earn the save and secure the win for the Red Raiders.
Despite dropping the hard fought one-run contest, the Knights (18-7, 6-6 Big 12) still won their third consecutive Big 12 Conference series on the weekend by taking two of three from the Red Raiders (19-9, 5-7 Big 12). Texas Tech is currently receiving votes for both the ESPN/USA Today Coaches and NCBWA polls and was picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 standings this season.
“We’ve got to find a way to capitalize more when we have runners on base. That’s the difference in the game. We gifted them a run in the ninth and had a couple of shots earlier in the ballgame but just couldn’t get the job done,” head UCF coach Rich Wallace said. “Overall, we’re pleased to take two out of three from Texas Tech, but we are upset that we weren’t able to get the sweep and that’s a good thing.”
Both teams got runners aboard and threatened to score in the second inning, but each starting pitcher managed to pitch out of the jam to strand the runners. UCF’s Wiley Hartley retired three straight batters, which included two via strikeout, after allowing two to reach base with nobody out to keep the game scoreless. The Knight offense got back-to-back-to-back singles with one away in the bottom of the frame to load the bases but TTU’s Mac Heuer retired the next two batters he faced to keep it a 0-0 contest after two innings of play.
The Black and Gold got on the scoreboard first in the third thanks to a leadoff solo home run from Matt Prevesk to take a 1-0 lead. Prevesk’s round tripper marked his third of the season as he pulled the solo bomb out to right field.
The Red Raiders then struck back with a pair of solo homers of their own in the top of the fourth to take a 2-1 advantage. Drew Woodcox led off the inning with solo shot to left and Gavin Kash gave Texas Tech the lead two batters later by sneaking one over the centerfield wall.
Castellano then come on in relief and gave the Black and Gold 5.0 strong innings of relief to keep UCF in the ballgame. He sat down the first eight batters he faced and allowed just one run on two hits while striking out six over a career-long five innings. He also faced the minimum in three of his five innings of work. Kyle Kramer also came on late in the game and again did his job by retiring the two batters he faced, as the UCF bullpen combined to allow just one run on two hits over 5.2 innings.
The UCF offense again loaded the bases in the sixth and got a runner into scoring position in the seventh, but the Texas Tech bullpen managed to pitch out of each jam to keep it a 2-1 game.
Prevesk and Estrella both homered for the Black and Gold to lead the way offensively, while Danny Neri and Braden Calise each went 1-for-3 with a walk. Woodcox paced the Red Raiders on the day by going 2-for-4 with a home run.
Texas Tech starter Mac Heuer was credited with the win to improve to 3-2 on the year. Despite giving up just two runs on four hits while striking out four, UCF’s Hartey was tagged with the loss to drop to 2-2 on the season.
The run that Texas Tech scored in the ninth inning, put an end to 22.1 consecutive innings of scoreless relief pitched by UCF’s bullpen over the last seven ballgames.
The Knights will have a busy week next week as they’ll play five games over the course of the week. The Black and Gold will first head to Daytona Beach to face Bethune-Cookman on Tuesday at Jackie Robinson Ballpark before returning to John Euliano Park to host North Florida on Wednesday. UCF will then cap the week by welcoming No. 23 Kansas State to town for a three-game league series Friday to Sunday at John Euliano Park.