ORLANDO – Corrigan Bartlett hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth to lift Wichita State to a 7-6, come-from-behind win at UCF in the series finale of a four-game American Athletic Conference series Sunday, May 9, at John Euliano Park.
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With the victory, the Shockers take three of four games from the Knights and improve to 25-18 overall and 13-10 in The American, while UCF falls to 23-25 on the season and 13-11 in conference action.
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Bartlett went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI, while
Seth Stroh went 2-for-3, including a home run, and
Hunter Gibson and
Paxton Wallace each had a pair of hits, pacing Wichita State at the plate.
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WSU reliever
Aaron Haase (1-1) earned the win on the mound after throwing two scoreless innings and allowing just one hit with no walks and three strikeouts.
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The Shockers and Knights each traded runs in the opening two innings, with each team scoring a run in the first and second innings, resulting in a 2-2 tie going into the top of the third.
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Wichita State ended the trend in the third, scoring three runs after
Jack Sigrist crossed home plate on a double-play and Bartlett launched a two-run homer over the left field wall, gaining a 5-2 advantage. It was Bartlett's sixth round-tripper of the season.
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The Knights responded though, plating a run in the fourth and three in the sixth to take a 6-5 lead.
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WSU had an answer of its own, however, and was able to tie the game, 6-6, when
Andrew Stewart worked a bases loaded walk in the eighth inning.
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Haase shut down UCF in the bottom-half of the inning with a pair of strikeouts and a ground-out, keeping the contest knotted going to the ninth.
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After Wallace reached on a one-out walk, pinch-hitter
Cooper Elliott smacked an infield single down the first-base line, allowing Wallace to advance to third with Bartlett up to bat.
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Bartlett hit the first pitch he saw out to left field, bringing in Wallace on his team-best sixth sacrifice fly of the season, allowing Wichita State to regain a 7-6 edge.
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Tom Josten went 2-for-3 with a double and home run, and batted-in three, pacing UCF offensively.
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Reliever Billy McKay (1-2) suffered the loss for the Knights after giving up two earned runs on two hits with three walks and a strikeout in 1 2/3 innings.
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The Shockers are scheduled to welcome South Florida to Eck Stadium for a four-game series May 14-16.
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