ORLANDO, Fla. – The Presbyterian College baseball team scored three runs in the ninth inning to break a 3-3 tie and upend the No. 26 UCF Knights on Saturday night, 6-3.
PC improves to 17-32-1 while UCF falls to 31-20. The two teams play the rubber match on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Orlando.
Tied 3-3, PC took to the plate in the top of the ninth inning. After an opening groundout, Weston Jackson (Greer, S.C.) single to right center before Brad Zebedis (Rock Hill, S.C.) drew a walk. A Cam McRae (Darlington, S.C.) double off of the first pitch drove in the eventual winning run and prompted a UCF pitching change. Nate Chong (Duluth, Ga.) then doubled down the left field line to score Zebedis and McRae and give the Blue Hose a 6-3 lead heading into the bottom of the frame.
Ethan Wortkoetter (Greer, S.C.) pitched 4.2 innings on the ninth and the Blue Hose sent him in to close out the Knights. The rookie reliever allowed a leadoff single before inducing two flyouts and striking out the final batter to seal the win, 6-3.
Wortkoetter improves to 3-3 with the win, in which he struck out four and allowed only one run in 4.2 innings of work. Starter Aaron Lesiak (Greenville, S.C.) threw 4.1 innings and allowed two runs on six hits. Trent Thompson was charged with the final three runs and moved to 1-6 on the year.
Cam McRae (Darlington, S.C.) and Derek Long (Alpharetta, Ga.) each delivered three hits on the night. McRae, Zebedis and Chong each tallied two RBI to power the Blue Hose past the Knights.
PC opened the scoring in the fourth inning. Zebedis drew a full-count leadoff walk and took second on a failed pickoff attempt. McRae then singled up the middle to plate the senior and give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
UCF scored in the bottom of the frame to even the game. A Matt Diorio double drove in a run and pulled the Knights into a 1-1 tie. The Knights then scored a run each in the fifth—on an error—and in the sixth to take a 3-1 lead.
PC tied the game in the top of the seventh. Long and Jay Lizanich (Greer, S.C.) delivered back-to-back singles to lead off the inning and a Brandon Paul (Augusta, Ga.) sacrifice bunt moved the runners over. Zebedis then came through at the plate, singling through the gap to score both and make it a 3-3 game. The defense and Wortkoetter held UCF quiet in the seventh and eighth to set the stage for the deciding ninth.
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Presbyterian College 000 100 203 - 6 12 2 (17-32-1)
UCF................. 000 111 000 - 3 9 1 (31-20)
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Pitchers: Presbyterian College - LESIAK, Aaron; WORTKOETTER, Ethan(5) and LONG, Derek. UCF -
OLSON, T.; FAVRE, Z.(5); THOMPSON, T.(8); THOMAS, P.(9) and SAVINON, J..
Win-WORTKOETTER, Ethan(3-3) Loss-THOMPSON, T.(1-6) T-2:55 A-1293
Weather: 88 degrees, sunny
