“Pick me up,” he said.
Hultgren’s throw to first after a dropped third strike was uncatchable, allowing St. Johns River State College to keep the game alive and later tie the game. Hultgren was just hoping that his teammates could make up for his blunder.
The Patriots’ offense came through in the clutch, and Central Florida celebrated a walk-off victory on a single hit by redshirt sophomore Garrett Wallace.
“Kyler throws one away there in the ninth, which Kyler’s been really good all year and he’s been fine,” Central Florida coach Marty Smith said. “And Kevin made us all forget about that with a triple to the 400-foot sign that was 106 miles an hour off the bat, that’s picking people up.”
On an up-and-down day for the No. 11 Patriots (32-9), who used nine pitchers in the win, there were a lot of players who were picking up others after rough performances or mistakes.
The Vikings jumped on Pats starter Logan Clayton early, scoring two runs in the first inning. After Clayton gave up two singles in the second inning, Smith replaced him with reliever Alfredo Caraballo. Caraballo and reliever Francisco Mateo managed to stop the bleeding until the fifth inning.
The Patriots managed to even the score with a run in both the second and third innings. Garrett Wallace smacked his fifth home run of the season to reduce the lead to one. Central Florida tied the game in the bottom of the third on a bloop single to center after an error kept the inning alive.
Central Florida’s pitching fell apart in the top of the fifth inning, as the Pats used three pitchers and allowed seven runs. Mateo gave up back-to-back doubles for a run and loaded the bases after a pair of walks. Ben Chestnutt came in for the Patriots, but he didn’t fare any better, allowing three earned runs. The inning was punctuated with a Ramses Cordova grand slam to put the Vikings up 9-2.
The Patriots scored a run on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth, and then they rallied in the bottom of the sixth for six runs to tie the game at nine.
Spencer Stephens led off the inning by smashing his first home run of the season, and Central Florida scored five runs before the Vikings could even register an out. A pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases before third baseman Matthew Cedarburg brought home two runs on a double. A dropped third strike and an ensuing wild throw to first scored another run.
Jackson Taylor grounded into a double play with the bases loaded for another run, and the tying run scored on a wild pitch to cap off the inning.
Reliever Parker Seay guided the Patriots through a scoreless sixth inning, but he wouldn’t survive the seventh. With two outs and a runner on first, Seay dished out a hit by pitch and a walk to load the bases. After walking home a run to give the Vikings a 10-9 lead, Seth Baugh entered the game to pitch and escaped the jam.
