Baseball Holds on in Ninth to Pull Out Series with 7-6 Victory over BYUBaseball Holds on in Ninth to Pull Out Series with 7-6 Victory over BYU

Baseball Holds on in Ninth to Pull Out Series with 7-6 Victory over BYU

by James Warnick
Box Score

PROVO, Utah – Dylan King hit a go-ahead home run in the sixth and added a two-run triple in the eighth and Angelo Smith came on and closed it out in the ninth to lead UCF baseball to a 7-6 victory over BYU on a cold and snowy Saturday afternoon at Miller Park in Provo.

With the victory, the Knights claimed the opening Big 12 series two games to one and moved to 15-4 overall and 2-1 in conference play. UCF has now won nine of its last 10 contests and all five series so far on the year.

“Dylan King was huge. He had three RBIs—all with two outs—with a home run and big triple. He also caught his tail off, as he did a nice job of handling the staff all game long. I couldn’t be prouder of him,” head UCF coach Rich Wallace said. “And that also goes for the team. I couldn’t be more proud of them,”   

The Black and Gold struck first thanks to a third-inning solo home run to deep right field from Edian Espinal. The round tripper marked Espinal’s fourth of the season and traveled 414 feet to give UCF an early 1-0 lead.

BYU (11-7, 1-2 Big 12) tied things up in the bottom of the third on a sacrifice fly from Crew McChesney. The Cougars then took advantage of the elements to take a 2-1 lead in the fourth. With snowfall beginning to come down fairly hard, Cooper Vest lifted a ball to right-center field, and it dropped in for a triple. Vest then came in to score on a on an RBI single from Bryker Hurdsman.   

UCF responded with a run in the fifth to deadlock the score at 2-2. Antonio Jimenez singled and moved over to second on a sacrifice bunt from DeAmez Ross. Espinal then plated him with an RBI single to center field for his second run batted in of the afternoon.

The Cougars then threatened by loading the bases in the bottom of the fifth, but Dominic Castellano recorded an inning-ending strikeout to strand a trio of runners on the base paths.

The Knights regained the lead in the sixth when Dylan King hit out a two-out solo home run to right center. The homer traveled 420 feet and tied King for the team lead with his fifth long ball of the year.   

Castellano continued to pitch well by retiring the Cougars in order in the last of the sixth. BYU then got a runner aboard with no outs in the last of the seventh, and Antonio Jimenez made a diving catch and got to his feet to double off the runner at first for an impressive double play.

UCF later got a pair of runners in scoring position with two outs in the top of the eighth and King came through in the clutch again with a two-run triple to right center to extend the Black and Gold’s lead to 5-2. The Knights then made it 7-2 in the top of the ninth by adding two more insurance runs. With two out and Andrew Williamson on first following a two-out walk, Erick Almonte delivered his first hit in a Black and Gold uniform with an RBI double to left to plate Williamson. Lex Boedicker then immediately followed with an RBI single to center to give the Knights a five-run cushion.

The Cougars wouldn’t go away easily in the last of the ninth, however, as they quickly loaded the bases with nobody out. Following a bases-loaded walk from Luke Anderson and an RBI single from Vest to make it 7-4, Hurdsman then made it a one-run game via a two-run single. Still with nobody out in the inning and the tying and winning runs on base, UCF reliever Angelo Smith struck out Brock Watkins and followed by inducing a game-ending 4-6-3 double play to seal the victory.

Castellano earned the win in relief to move to a perfect 4-0 on the season after tossing a pair of scoreless frames and striking out four. Smith then earned his first save in a UCF uniform by getting out of a jam in the ninth. Dom Stagliano started for the Knights and struck out a season-high six batters while surrendering just two runs on five hits over 4.0 innings. BYU’s Garrison Sumner was tagged with the loss to drop to 2-1.

King led the UCF offense by going 2-for-4 with a homer, a triple, three RBIs and a run scored. Espinal was next by going 2-for-4 with a homer and two runs batted in. Hurdsman drove in three runs to lead the way for Brigham Young.  

The game featured a two-hour snow delay prior to first pitch. Temperatures were also in the mid-30s on the day as well. All three games in the series were decided by just one run.

“There was almost every type of element to battle this weekend besides any type of heat. Rain, snow, wind, you name it. And all of that on the road against a tough, well-coached team,” Wallace added. “You couldn’t win a series any harder than we just did, and they couldn’t have made it any more difficult. And to close it out with two big double plays, you couldn’t ask for more from the guys.”

The Knights will now return to the Sunshine State for a midweek contest at Stetson on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Following Tuesday’s ballgame, UCF will host Houston for its first Big 12 home series next weekend at John Euliano Park.