DJ Hicks did everything he could to help the UCF baseball team get a win against USF on Tuesday.
At the plate that is.
Hicks went deep twice and drove in three runs, but the two-way player gave up four earned runs in the eighth inning — all with two outs — that helped USF escape with a come-from-behind victory over the Knights (13-3) in front of 1,711 fans at Jay Bergman Field.
“DJ had a great night offensively and he is going to do a great job for us on the mound,” UCF head coach Terry Rooney said. “Obviously, he didn’t have his best stuff for us tonight, but hey I will keep running DJ out there. The guy is an unbelievable competitor in everything that he does. He is a terrific two-way player. Hey, that’s just one game. DJ is going to have an awesome year for us there is no question about it.”
Ronnie Richardson doubled to lead off the home half of the seventh and eventually crossed home plate on a Beau Taylor RBI single, giving the Knights a 4-2 advantage.
That didn’t last long.
USF’s Sam Mende scored on a two-out single by Chad Taylor in the following half inning, cutting the UCF lead to just one. The Bulls followed that up with three more runs, including a run that scored on a run down between first and second, which proved to be the difference in the game, as they went up 6-4 after the top of the eighth.
Hicks launched his second homer of the game over the center-field wall in the bottom half of the inning, but the Knights wouldn’t get any closer as the Bulls pitched a scoreless ninth to secure the comeback.
Early in the game it looked as the Knights would cruise once again. Starter Brian Adkins continued to pitch out of jams in the opening innings and the offense provided some pop when Jonathan Griffin launched his fourth homer of the year over the left-field fence, helping the Knights claim a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third.
A couple of batters later, Hicks connected on a pitch and took it over the fence for a two-run homerun as the Knights extended their lead to 3-0.
Adkins continued his strong season on the mound, tossing 6 2/3 innings pitched while giving up just two runs and surrendering his first walk of the season.
