As junior transfer outfielder Dylan Knowles stepped into the batter’s box in the bottom of the ninth inning on Wednesday night, all eyes were on him in a pressure-filled situation.
With the score tied at four apiece against North Dakota State with two outs and runners on first and third, Knowles had the opportunity to be the hero for Cal Poly, and his mentality stepping up to the plate reflected that.
“I mean, I’ve got nothing to lose right?” Knowles said. “I might as well go for it.”
Knowles smacked the first pitch he saw right back up the middle to walk it off for the Mustangs (2-2) and secure their 5-4 comeback victory over the Bison (0-4).
“It’s a pretty cool feeling I’ve always wanted to have,” Knowles said. “Just being here is unreal and being a part of this team.”
Cal Poly was down early after freshman lefty Christopher Downs drew the start and gave up three runs in the first inning before being relieved by sophomore right-handed pitcher Charlie Royle after only recording two outs.
Junior southpaw Jacob Torres came in after Royle’s scoreless 2 1/3 innings and pitched three scoreless and hitless innings while striking out five.
Senior first baseman Joe Yorke was responsible for bringing home the first two runs of the day for the Mustangs after recording RBIs on a sacrifice fly in the third inning and a fielder’s choice in the fifth inning.
Despite scoring those two runs through the first seven innings, the Cal Poly offense remained stagnant, only recording a single hit.
North Dakota State tacked on another run to go up 4-2 in the seventh inning after a throwing error by true freshman infielder Alejandro Garza.
The Cal Poly offense came alive starting in the bottom of the seventh inning after pulling off a double steal with runners on first and third to cut the deficit to 4-3.
The eighth inning saw the Mustangs string together a series of walks and take advantage of poor defense from North Dakota State to score Knowles from third on a passed ball to tie things up at 4-4.
Senior center fielder Jake Steels got things started in the ninth with a base hit up the middle before Yorke tacked on a single of his own to advance Steels to third to set up Knowles’ walkoff single in his first at-bat as a Mustang to secure the 5-4 victory.
“Heart and effort is never going to be the problem with this team,” Knowles said.
The Mustangs will look ahead to their toughest challenge of the season when they travel to Austin, Texas to take on the No. 16 ranked team in the country in the University of Texas in a three-game set from Friday, Feb. 23 to Sunday, Feb. 25 at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.