Hurricanes Sweep Eagles with 4-1 Victory

Box Score | Season Stats

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The No. 13 Miami Hurricanes earned their third series sweep of the year by finishing off the visiting Boston College Eagles 4-1 in Sunday’s series finale at Alex Rodriguez Park.

Playing in their first-ever Atlantic Coast Conference series as members of the Hurricanes, the freshmen duo of Esteban Tresgallo and Jarred Mederos powered Miami (12-3, 3-0 ACC) through the finish line.

Mederos, who finished Saturday’s game 3-for-4 with two runs scored, recorded two more runs and one RBI in the victory. His double in the sixth inning plated none other than Tresgallo, who scored Miami’s other two runs on the day.

Tresgallo, 1-for-2 with two walks in the game, extended his hitting streak to an impressive fourteen consecutive games with a triple in the second inning. It was the first career triple for the Puerto Rico native, now tied for the team-lead with nine extra-base hits. Tresgallo is also tied for the longest streak in the conference (Chris Diaz, N.C. State), and only six games shy of the Hurricanes’ rookie record set by Mark Sobolweski in 2007 (20 games).

Starter Bryan Radziewski, coming off a strong showing in the series finale against Florida, rendered the Boston College offense ineffective with another stellar performance . The sophomore southpaw left the game with new season-highs in strikeouts (six) and innings (seven), allowing only one hit over his stint. Though he walked three batters, Radziewski needed only 92 pitches to get through his seven innings.

The Hurricanes built their lead to 2-0 in the fourth inning, as a sacrifice fly from Tyler Palmer plated Mederos for the second run of the day.

Confusion ensued on the following play, with freshman Garrett Kennedy on third base and two outs in the inning. The Eagles unsuccessfully attempted a “hidden ball” trick, with the third baseman tagging Kennedy out and the team leaving the field after what was believed to be the final out of the inning.

Because time had been called, however, the ruling was overturned by first base umpire Fred Cannon. Boston College returned to the diamond, and Dale Carey promptly flied out to left field to end the inning.

The Hurricanes secured the game with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. After a walk to Tresgallo, a passed ball from catcher Nate LaPointe advanced him over to second. Stephen Perez, one of the heroes in the first two games of the series, moved Tresgallo to third with a sacrifice bunt. Mederos then smacked a double to deep left center to plate Tresgallo, and would later score on a sacrifice fly from rightfielder Tyler Palmer.

Closer E.J. Encinosa finished the game off for the second straight day, pitching a scoreless ninth inning for his third save of the season and second in the past two days. After a tough outing against the Gators on March 4, Encinosa has not allowed a hit in his last three appearances, striking out six over the same span.

The Hurricanes return to action with two midweek games before their road trip to face the Duke Blue Devils from March 16-18. They face Illinois State at Alex Rodriguez Park Tuesday (3/13) and travel to Orlando for a battle with Central Florida on Wednesday before their three-game series in Durham, N.C.

GAME NOTES

Freshman on Fire
Jarred Mederos and Esteban Tresgallo, who combined to score all four of the team’s runs on Sunday, are turning into an impressive duo on the left side of the Hurricane infield. Tresgallo leads the ACC with a 14-game hitting streak, while Mederos has raised his average from .235 to .286 over the past four games.

Take Three
Tresgallo’s second-inning triple was his first career three-base hit as a Hurricane, and only the sixth triple of the season for the team. Stephen Perez leads the team with two triples, while Julian Santos, Michael Broad, and Rony Rodriguez each have one.