Central Florida delivered head coach Marty Smith's 500th victory Monday with a walk-off 12-11 win over Macomb in the early half of an afternoon doubleheader. He added No. 501 a couple of hours later as the Patriots completed the sweep with a 12-inning 6-5 win in the nightcap.
Click here to read more about Smith's historic achievement.
The opener appeared lost until the Patriots staged a last-ditch rally with its final three outs. A faltering Macomb bullpen allowed a string of hits, walks and hit batsmen, setting the stage for CF to erase the 11-6 deficit it faced entering the seventh and final inning. Christian Coburn's walk-off hit to the centerfield wall cleared the loaded bases to end the game and give Smith his historic victory.
Far from an anticlimax, the nightcap provided its own brand of drama as the scheduled 7-inning game went to 5 extra innings. Bradley Goodson hit a leadoff triple, Casey Smit and Jacob Zellner were intentionally walked to load the bases and Scott Schaub rapped a single to left field to score Goodson, break the 5-5 tie and give the Patriots their second walk-off victory of the day.
After Monday's jubilant non-conference wins, CF (10-23-1) faces a more sobering set of challenges for the rest of the week as it resumes its uphill climb in the Mid-Florida Conference. First up is a home-and-home set with Lake-Sumter, with CF on the road Wednesday and hosting the Lakers on Friday at 3 p.m.
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