Hurricanes defeat Savannah State, 7-2
April 7, 2001
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) – Shortstop Javy Rodriguez went 2-for-3 at the plate, scoring two runs and knocking in another to lead the University of Miami Hurricanes baseball team (27-9), ranked as high as eighth by Baseball America, defeated the Savannah State Tigers (30-8), 7-2, in front of 1,518 fans at Mark Light Stadium Saturday night.
Six Miami pitchers limited the Tigers to five hits and combined to collect 15 strikeouts in the ballgame. Reliever Dan Smith (2-0) got the win for the Hurricanes. Miami garnered seven runs despite only five hits. Starter Chris Sheffield of Miami worked 4 1/3 innings before leaving with a blister on his throwing hand. He allowed just one hit and struck out eight without allowing a run or a base on balls. Smith got the victory by working 1 2/3 innings allowing one run, one hit, walking one and collecting two strikeouts.Relievers Luke DeBold, Alex Prendes, T.J. Prunty and George Huguet also saw mound action for the Hurricanes.
Three SSU errors were instrumental in the game, leading directly to four UM runs. Starter Tim Fries (1-3) took the loss for Savannah State, allowing seven runs on four hits with three strikeouts in six innings of work.
In the Miami first, leadoff man Marcus Nettles reached first on an infield single and advanced to second on an errant pickoff throw by pitcher Tim Fries. Nettles moved to third on another infield single by Javy Rodriguez and advanced to second on a stolen base. After Kevin Howard lined out to shortstop, a walk to Danny Matienzo loaded the bases with one out. Mike Rodriguez struck out swinging. Savannah State shortstop Wesley Garcia let a grounder off the bat of Haas Pratt get through his legs for an error, scoring Nettles and Javy Rodriguez to give the Canes a 2-0 lead.
Leading 3-0 entering the sixth, the Hurricanes extended their lead with an RBI double to right centerfield by Danny Matienzo scoring Howard from first base. Mike Rodriguez followed with an RBI double to right center field to score Matienzo. Mike Rodriguez advanced to third base on a fly out to right and then scored on a wild pitch.
In the seventh, the Hurricanes’ Javy Rodriguez had an RBI single to left field scoring Kris Clute from second base. Clute had led off the inning with a walk, then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Marcus Nettles. Javy Rodriguez also had his fourth stolen base of the night and his 34th of the season during the inning.
In the top of the ninth, Savannah State’s Bob Settle led off the inning with a bunt single and moved to second on a throwing error. Settle then moved to third on a single to left field by T.J. Lonnon. With one out, Settle scored on a passed ball, which moved Lonnon to second base before Huguet got out of the inning for Miami to end the game.
The two teams will conclude the series on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Light. The game can be heard over the Internet at hurricanesports.com, as well as on the student voice of the Hurricanes, WVUM 90.5 FM.
Call 1-800-GO-CANES for season and individual game ticket information. To join the excitement, log on to hurricanesports.com and become a member of Hurricane Watch, the on-line loyalty program that allows you to purchase tickets on-line, transfer tickets to friends via email and earn Hurricane rewards for each game you attend at the Light.
