Late homer propels UCF past Stetson into regional rematch with FSU
The Knights broke through in the seventh inning with three runs, including a Jack Zyska 2-run homer to take the lead.
UCF outfielder Jack Zyska continued his strong performance in the Tallahassee Regional, blasting a 2-run homer late to help propel the Knights (37-20) past Stetson 5-2 on Sunday and into a rematch with top-seeded Florida State tonight.
Tied at 2 apiece in the bottom of the seventh inning, Zyska drove a 1-1 pitch from Hatters reliever Cole Stallings (3-1) over the left field wall for the Knights’ first lead of the game, 4-2.
The win sets up a rematch with FSU (44-15), which advanced to the night game with a 5-2 victory over UCF Saturday night.
“It was a fun baseball game,” said UCF coach Rich Wallace.
Stetson center fielder Kyle Jones got the Hatters going early with a leadoff double against UCF starter Wiley Hartley in the top of the first inning. After a walk and a groundout, Jones scored on a fly-out by catcher Gio Cueto for a 1-0 lead.
Third baseman Braden Calise opened the bottom of the second inning for the Knights with a lead-off double off Stetson pitcher John Modugno. He advanced to third on a bunt single by left-fielder Matt Prevesk and scored on a double-play ball by centerfielder Andrew Williamson.
A walk to shortstop Mikey Kluska ended Modugno’s day as the Hatters went with reliever Nick Durgin.
Stetson retook the lead in the top of the third inning when center fielder Kyle Jones blasted a solo homer over the left-field wall. It was the second homer of the regional for Jones and gave the Hatters a 2-0 lead.
Both pitching staffs settled down with three scoreless innings, with UCF’s Dom Castellano (7-0) coming in relief in the seventh. Hartley gave up 2 runs on 4 hits while walking 2 and striking out 5 batters in six innings.
“We knew we had another opportunity this morning, and we just wanted to get to tonight, and we did that. ,” said Hartley.
UCF tied the game in the bottom of the seventh with a two-out RBI double by pinch-hitter Andrew Sundean. That set up Zyska’s homer, which broke open the game for the Knights.
Zyska went 3-for-3 with a homer and 2 RBIs for the game and was 7-of-11 (.636) with a homer, 3 doubles and 6 RBIs for the regional tournament.
Calise added a solo home run in the eighth inning to push the advantage to 5-2.
Rain forced the game into an hour-and-a-half delay before both teams returned to finish the game.
“It was awful, absolutely awful,” said Wallace. “Deciding what you want to do, and I thought we were really rolling, but credit to the guys because they’re a mature group, and they stayed focused and went out there and got it done.”
Added Zyska: “You want to keep playing, and I would rather play through the rain. Luckily, it wasn’t a long delay. It was about an hour or so. We’re just trying to stay focused and figure out how to get three outs.”
Castellano faced one batter before giving up a lead-off single to Landon Moran. He was replaced by Kris Sosnowski, who got the save (6) while leaving two runners on base.
Stetson (41-22) wrapped up a season in which the Hatters won the Atlantic-Sun Conference title while earning a spot in a regional tournament for the first time since 2018.
Matt Murschel can be reached at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com