Baseball Drops Rally Loss To FIU 7-6
March 1, 2000
Coral Gables, FL – Florida International (15-2) held the Hurricanes hitless over the final seven innings and scored two runs in the seventh to rally by No. 9 Miami (11-6), 7-6, at Mark Light Stadium.
In the seventh, FIU’s Barry Paulk led off with a single on UM reliever Greg Howell (1-1). After Paulk stole second, junior Gus Alfonso hit double down the left field line to score Paulk. Junior Alfred Corbeil grounded out on the next play, but not before Alfonso advanced to third. Junior Raul Pujol grounded out to force Alfonso in for the go-ahead run.
Miami jumped out fast, scoring three runs in the first inning FIU starter Jerry Courtney (4-0). Freshman Kevin Howard was the first Hurricane to reach with a single to left field. The next batter, senior Lale Esquivel, followed with an infield single to the shortstop. Junior Kevin Brown then slapped a double to left field, scoring Howard from second. Freshman Danny Matienzo then brought in UM’s second run of the inning with a single to right field, scoring Esquivel from third. Junior Kris Clute’s single to left field scored scored Brown from third to close out the three-run inning.
FIU answered in the top of the second with a two-run home run by freshman Hector Nunez off Hurricane starter Tom Farmer. Pujol had led off the inning with a walk.
Miami came back strong in the second with another three-run inning off Courtney. Howard reached base with a single to right field, advanced to second on a balk and then to third on a throwing error by Courtney. After Esquivel walked, Brown came up with a bases-clearing two-run triple down the left field line. A Courtney wild pitch later in the inning allowed Brown to score.
The Golden Panthers closed the gap to 6-3 with one run in the third, when junior Gus Alfonso hit FIU’s second home run of the game to left field.
In the fifth, FIU got within one run, 6-5, after Corbeil tripled to left field to score Alfonso from second. Alfonso had reached on an infield bunt and stole second. A Pujol ground out allowed Corbeil to score to complete the two-run inning.
For the game, FIU out-hit the Hurricanes 14-8 for the game
The Hurricanes host CW Post in a three-game series at Mark Light Stadium this weekend.
