Baseball Falls in Extras at No. 20 MiamiBaseball Falls in Extras at No. 20 Miami

Baseball Falls in Extras at No. 20 Miami

by James Warnick
Box Score

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The No. 20 Miami Hurricanes rallied to tie things up in the ninth and won it in the 13th via a two-run walk-off home run from Vance Sheahan to defeat UCF 8-7 at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.

The Knights (3-1) held a 5-0 lead in the game behind six no-hit innings from starter Matt Sauser. After the Hurricanes (4-0) tied it in the ninth, the Black and Gold regained a 6-5 lead in the 10th on a sacrifice fly from senior DeAmez Ross. Miami then tied it in the last of the 10th on a solo homer from All-American Daniel Cuvet to send it to the 11th.

After scoreless 11th and 12th frames that featured a number of stellar defensive plays from UCF, the Knights took a 7-6 lead in the top of the 13th on a clutch two-out go-ahead RBI single from Javier Crespo. The Hurricanes then picked up a leadoff hit in the last of the 13th and won it on the walk-off home run from Sheahan.

With Sauser having retired the first six batters he faced, the Knights broke a scoreless tie in the top of the third thanks to a deep two-run home run from Andrew Williamson off the parking garage in right field to make it 2-0. The round tripper marked Williamson’s first of the season and traveled 423 feet. Ross scored on the play after reaching via a hit by pitch earlier in the inning.

After Sauser retired the side in order again in the bottom of third, the Knights drove in two more runs in the fourth to make it 4-0. With JD Rogers aboard following a single, freshman Jordan Lodise drove him home by pulling an RBI double down the third base line. Williamson then followed with his third RBI of the game via a sharp single to left.

The Knights made it 5-0 in the top of the fifth, as the senior Ross delivered a two-out RBI single up the middle to bring in Rogers. Sauser continued to shine on the mound in the last of the frame by retiring the Hurricanes in order that included back-to-back strikeouts.

Sauser again mowed down the Hurricanes in order in the sixth thanks to a nice catch in center from Ross to get through six no-hit innings of work.

With the Black and Gold having gone to the bullpen in the seventh, Miami threatened for the first time of the contest by getting two runners aboard with two outs, but UCF’s Mateo Gray drew an inning-ending flyout to left to keep it a 5-0 score.

The Hurricanes then got on the board in the eighth inning on a two-run home run from Jake Ogden. Miami then loaded the bases in the ninth and managed to score three runs to tie things up and force extra innings. Michael Torres had the big hit of the frame with a two-out, two-run single to deadlock the score at 5-5.

Despite allowing just one runner to reach base over 6.0 impressive innings of work, Sauser took a no-decision on the night. In his first start of the season, the right-hander tossed 6.0 shutout innings in which he didn’t allow a hit, struck out six and walked just one. The UCF starter faced the minimum in five of his dominant six innings in the contest. In all, the Knights used a total of nine pitchers in the ball game and Black and Gold reliever Roman Kimball was tagged with his first loss of the season.

Williamson paced UCF at the plate by going 3-for-6 with a double, a homer, a walk, two runs scored and three runs batted in. Ross was next with a 2-for-5 performance with two RBIs and a run scored, while Rogers too finished with a 2-for-5 outing with a double and two runs scored. Alonzo Alvarez paced Miami with two hits while Sheahan drove in a team-high three runs.

The 13-inning contest marked UCF’s longest game since May 26, 2023, when it fell to East Carolina in 13 innings at the American Conference Tournament. Tuesday’s contest also lasted four hours and 30 minutes.

The ballgame marked the Black and Gold’s first of two season meetings against the Hurricanes and its first of 14 games on the year against Sunshine State foes.   

On Deck

The Knights will next head north on I-95 to take part in the Live Like Lou Jax Classic this weekend in Jacksonville. At the event, the Black and Gold will face Notre Dame Friday at 6 p.m., Indiana Saturday at 4 p.m., and No 1 LSU on Sunday at 3 p.m. All three games will be streamed live by D1Baseball and Friday and Sunday’s games will air live on FM 96.9 The Game while Saturday will be feature live audio available on ucfknights.com.