Snow may have stopped the UCF Knights from playing on April 6, but it didn’t slow the Knights’ bats in their series opener with the UConn Huskies in Connecticut–at least when it counted.

To earn the 10-8 win on April 7, UCF (22-9, 4-3 in American Athletic Conference) needed a ninth-inning rally and 11 innings.

UConn (15-10, 1-3 in AAC) led 8-4 entering the ninth, but the Knights piled on four runs with two outs to even the game.

The Knights started their rally with catcher Logan Heiser receiving a pitch to his body and third baseman Griffin Bernardo striking out. After pinch hitter Chandler Robertson singled and center fielder Ray Alejo struck out looking, shortstop Brandon Hernandez singled to the shortstop to load the bases.

Second baseman Matthew Mika, then, drove in two runs with a base hit up the middle and advanced to second on a fielding error in center field. UConn elected to intentionally walk sophomore Rylan Thomas, UCF’s leader in home runs (eight) and RBIs (37), to load the bases again.

That gave way to erroneous pitching by reliever P.J. Poulin (2-2)–who recorded the loss–as he hit outfielder Tyler Osik and threw a wild pitch for two UCF runs to tie the game at 8-8.

Poulin had just taken the mound after Thomas was walked.

The Knights sealed the victory in the 11th with runs by Alejo and Hernandez. Alejo hit a lead-off single, and Hernandez doubled to left field before a groundout by Mika and a single by Osik made possible the game-winning runs.

UConn scored in five-straight innings, scoring two in each of the fourth, fifth and sixth frames. The Huskies were shut down for the final innings, though, as the Knights used lefty Luis Ferrer, winner Thad Ward (4-2) and closer Bryce Tucker to close out the game.

UCF kept the game within reach by scoring a run in each of the first and second innings and two more in the sixth. Bernardo drew a full-count, bases-loaded walk with two outs in the first to open the scoring. Alejo scored another two-out walk in the second on a fielding error at third.

After drawing one-out walks in the sixth, Hernandez and Mika were eventually rewarded with runs. Hernandez ran home from a single by Thomas, and Beaver drove in Mika to make it an 8-4 game.

Sophomore Mason Feole started for the Huskies, as he went 5.0 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits and five walks with seven strikeouts.

Who’s Next?

UCF continues its series with the Huskies on Sunday with a double-header beginning at 8:30 a.m. Game 3 is scheduled for 11 a.m.

For more on the Knights, as they look to extend their three-game winning streak, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.

To contact Victor, you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com.