The Chevy Suburban made its way through the mountains of West Virginia, bound for Florida.
On the radio, the St. Louis Cardinals were putting the finishing touches on a 5-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers. It was a pleasant distraction for the three people in the rental car.
Behind the wheel was UCF baseball coach Rich Wallace, who was maneuvering the rental SUV down Interstate 77. Also in the vehicle was Jack Zyska, the Knights’ Director of Position Player Development, and junior pitcher Braden Smith, who was resting in the back.
UCF was coming off a crucial series win over No. 11 West Virginia over the weekend that kept the Knights atop the Big 12 standings.
None of that mattered to any of the occupants in the car at that point.
The 13-hour drive became a necessity when Smith took a line drive in the face in the second inning against the Mountaineers on Friday. The Illinois native spent 15 minutes on the field as he was attended by trainers and medical personnel. He was carted off the field and taken to an area hospital. He was released Sunday.
Unable to fly, Wallace stepped up to make sure Smith made it back to Orlando.
UCF pitcher Braden Smith, here pitching in February, was injured by a line drive in a game at West Virginia last Friday. His injuries prevented him from flying, so he rode in a rental vehicle driven by head coach Rich Wallace and Jack Zyska, the Knights’ Director of Position Player Development, to get back to Orlando. (Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP file)
“I treat all our guys, whether they like it or not, sometimes like my own son — and that was my own son,” said Wallace. “That’s what I would have done. The main thing was just to get him home. That’s one of my kids and I’m going to get him home and make sure it’s done myself. I’m not gonna leave that on anybody else but me.”
While Smith rested with a sleep mask on, Wallace and Zyska took turns driving, stopping only for gas and food.
“He’s better. He’s as good as you can be while dealing with facial fractures, concussion and lacerations,” Wallace explained. “He does have a treatment plan, but there is no timetable for his return yet. We’re progressing.”
Outfielder Andrew Williamson said the gesture by Wallace meant a lot to the team.
“It speaks a lot about the coach and his character, because that’s definitely a pretty long drive and a pretty big road trip,” Williamson said.
Smith’s injury certainly cast a pall on the Knights, but the team managed a 5-0 win.
“Nobody had that on their bingo card to start off the Friday night game,” said Wallace. “The vibe in the dugout was not great, with everyone concerned for a guy that they have a lot of respect for and a lot of love.”
“The coaches were rallying us, saying that Braden wanted us to win,” added Williamson. “He was on the mound, apparently wondering if he could still pitch. That encouraged us, knowing what our teammate is about. It definitely helped us play with a lot of passion, wanting to put a smile on his face that we won the game.”
UCF baseball remains atop Big 12 standings as Knights climb in polls
UCF would blow a 6-run lead before eventually losing to WVU, 11-10, in Saturday’s game before wrapping up the series with a 5-1 victory on Sunday. It was the fourth consecutive series win by the Knights, who have won 11 of their past 14 games.
UCF (20-9, 10-2 Big 12) climbed to No. 12 in the latest D1Baseball top 25 rankings, its best showing since reaching No. 12 on March 9, 2020. The Knights were also ranked No. 17 in the latest Baseball America rankings.
It’s quite the turnaround from last season, when UCF finished with a 29-26 overall record, including a 9-21 conference record that left the Knights out of the Big 12 Tournament.
“We’re playing better baseball,” Wallace said, comparing this season to last. “You can break that thing down offensively, defensively, the pitching, there are games that you have to win in this league, and for the most part, outside of Saturday, we’ve done that.”
UCF is back on the road this weekend in Lawrence to face Kansas (23-10, 9-3) for a three-game series starting Friday. The Jayhawks are in second place in the conference standings behind the Knights.
“We’ve got to play UCF baseball. You’ve got to pitch, defend at a high level and whatever the game requires offensively, we‘ve got to figure out a way to do just that,” said Wallace.
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