Freshman David Thompson (2-for-5) delivered a
two-out RBI single up the middle in the ninth inning that brought home senior
Chantz Mack (2-for-3) with the winning run as No. 21 Miami (10-0), edged Florida
(3-7), 3-2, on Friday night at McKethan Stadium in the opener of the Sunshine
State rivals’ weekend set. The victory ended an 11-game losing streak in the
series for the Hurricanes after the Gators had tied the game with a pair of
runs in the eighth.
With the teams deadlocked at 2-2 entering the
ninth, UF freshman right-hander Jay Carmichael (Cape Coral, Fla.) (0-1)
struck out junior Tyler Palmer and junior Alex Hernandez. Mack halted a stretch
of eight consecutive Hurricanes set down by the rookie with a single into right
field and then moved into scoring position with his first stolen base of the
season. Thompson broke the stalemate by slicing a 2-2 pitch into center field
to put Miami back on top.
“I
thought [Jay] Carmichael was throwing the ball well and whether or not we were
going to go to Mags [Johnny Magliozzi] there, but I wanted to see if we could
get a lead,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “There wasn’t a point in
time where I thought he [Carmichael] was in trouble. I thought we played really
good defense tonight. Once again, we need a big hit and we haven’t been able to
get one. There are three things that stick out in my mind throughout the course
of the game: bases loaded in the first, we had a 2-0 count, we take [the pitch]
and we don’t swing when we’ve been dying to get a hit – we don’t cut the barrel
loose. Next thing you know, it’s 2-2 and we fly out to right. He’s [Chris Diaz]
not going to walk you there; he’s a Friday night starter for a reason.”
Junior AJ Salcines worked a 1-2-3 bottom of
the ninth to collect his second save and secure the victory for senior Eric
Nedeljkovic (2-0). The triumph was the first for UM over the Gators since March
6, 2010, in Coral Gables (9-6). Senior Alex San Juan (2-for-4) had opened the
scoring in the fourth with a two-run homer and Hurricane sophomore southpaw Chris
Diaz tossed seven shutout innings but was not involved in the decision.
Miami threatened in the first inning against
junior Jonathon Crawford (Okeechobee, Fla.), as Palmer led off the game
with a double down the right-field line and Mack drew a one-out walk. However,
the righty had Thompson ground into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.
The Gators mounted a two-out rally in the
home part of the frame, as sophomore Justin Shafer (Lake Wales, Fla.) (3-for-4)
singled to extend his hitting streak to a career-high eight games, redshirt
sophomore Zack Powers (Seffner, Fla.) had a base-hit into left field and
sophomore Taylor Gushue (Boca Raton, Fla.) drew a walk. Diaz kept the
game scoreless by having senior Vickash Ramjit (Miami, Fla.) fly out to
right field.
Crawford retired the first two batters of the
second inning before San Juan’s liner into center field was ruled a hit instead
of a catch by freshman Harrison Bader (Bronxville, N.Y.). Junior Drew
Carey earned a free pass and freshman Brandon Lopez (3-for-4) singled into left
field to fill the bags with two down for the Hurricanes. Crawford had a
grounder by Palmer force Lopez at second base to end the frame.
San Juan provided Miami with a 2-0 lead in
the fourth with his first career homer. Junior Brad Fieger had opened the frame
with a double to left field and San Juan connected on a big fly to left field with
one down to break the ice.
Mack was hit by a pitch to start the fifth
and Thompson followed with a single into left field. A sacrifice bunt attempt
by Fieger resulted in Mack being thrown out at third base and Crawford kept the
Gators’ deficit at two runs by striking out senior Michael Broad and having San
Juan pop up to freshman shortstop Richie Martin (Brandon, Fla.).
Lopez had a one-out single in the sixth but a
fly-out by Palmer resulted in a double play when redshirt freshman right fielder
Cory Reid (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) threw to Ramjit covering first base.
After Gushue began the home part of the
inning with a base-hit, Diaz had Ramjit hit into a 5-4-3 double play and Bader reached
on a throwing error by Lopez. Diaz had a grounder by sophomore Josh Tobias
(Greensboro, N.C.) force Bader at second base to complete the inning.
Junior Daniel Gibson (Lutz, Fla.)
replaced Crawford (season-high 6.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R) prior to the seventh and hit
junior Alex Hernandez to start things off. Mack punched a single into right
field and Carmichael took over for Gibson. The rookie struck out Thompson, had
Fieger fly out to left field and induced an inning-ending grounder by Broad
that preserved the 2-0 score.
“I’m
really pleased,” O’Sullivan said of Crawford’s outing tonight. “If he can go
out there and give us six innings of two-run ball, I feel really good about it.
I thought he threw the ball really well. He threw big pitches when he needed
to.”
Martin raised his hitting streak to seven
games with a one-out single into left field in the bottom of the seventh.
However, Diaz had Turgeon fly out and Shafer line out to end the stanza.
Following seven shutout innings by Diaz in
which he scattered eight singles, the Gators battled back with two runs to tie
the game. Junior Bryan Radziewski took over on the mound and issued a leadoff
walk to Powers. A passed ball by San Juan enabled Powers to move into scoring
position and Radziewski struck out Gushue. Ramjit cut the deficit in half with
an RBI single into left field and went to second base on the relay throw to the
plate. Radziewski had Bader fly out to left field for the second out and Nedeljkovic
was summoned from the bullpen. On the ninth pitch of freshman pinch hitter Christian
Dicks’ (Jacksonville, Fla.) at bat, the reliever induced a pop-up that
Lopez dropped, enabling Ramjit to come home with the tying run.
Miami held an 11-9 advantage in hits and the
Gators did not commit any errors for the fourth time in the last five games.
Led by Shafer’s second three-hit output in a row, seven different Florida
players chipped in with at least one hit.
