San Pedro and Braun Supply the Power in a 14-6 Miami win
March 2, 2003
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Miami Catcher Erick San Pedro cracked two home runs and the Hurricanes hit four as a team in a 14-6 win over The Citadel on Sunday afternoon in front of 1,618 fans at Mark Light Field.
“It was a great win for us,” coach Jim Morris said. “It was a big game, the rubber game in the series, and it was game that we really needed to win. Our guys played well. Brandon Camardese pitched very well, we played great defense, and we swung the bat well. Our team took advantage of the wind. The wind was blowing out and we stayed back and hit the ball the other way.”
Brandon Camardese (2-0) pitched five strong innings, allowing one run on four hits and striking out four, while throwing 82 pitches.
Ryan Braun continued his long-ball assault, hitting a home run in his third consecutive game. The opposite-field blast in the third inning was his fourth of the season, tying him for the team lead with Jim Burt. He went 3-for-3 on the day with three RBI. Along with his fourth home run of the season, Braun also collected a triple and a single.
With two out and the bases loaded, The Citadel’s reliever Matt Covington walked Paco Figueroa to score Gaby Sanchez. Danny Figueroa followed with a single that glanced of the glove of the diving third baseman Chirs Ard to plate two more runs. Danny then promptly stole second base, his ninth steal of the season in nine attempts.
A two RBI single to right field by Adam Ricks chased the Bulldogs’ Covington and gave UM a 9-1 lead. Andy Phillips replaced Covington as The Citadel’s third pitcher of the inning and was greeted by an RBI triple by Braun. Braun then scored on a past ball. Burt grounded out to third base to end the third inning. UM scored eight runs on four hits and three walks in the frame.
Baseballs continued to fly out of Mark Light Field in the fourth inning as Tom Shannon (two-run home run) and Erick San Pedro (solo) hit back-to-back home runs off Phillips. San Pedro’s home run was his second of the day, and second of his career.
The Citadel scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning to narrow the UM lead to 14-4 on a solo home run by Trent Weathers and a two-run homer by Jon Aughey. The Bulldogs added two more runs in the eighth inning off Brad Newman, including a solo home run by catcher Jason Randall.
The Hurricanes took an early 1-0 lead, as Ryan Braun continued his hot hitting with a RBI single up the middle to score Adam Ricks, who had doubled earlier in the inning.
The Citadel came right back and tied the score at 1-1 in the top of the second inning. Trent Weathers’ ground ball found a hole between a diving Jim Burt (first base) and Adam Ricks (second base) to score Chip Cannon, who had led off the inning with a single to right field.
Catcher Erick San Pedro put the Canes back on top with a solo home run to right-center field in the second inning. The home run was the first of the sophomore’s career at Miami.
UM manufactured another run in the inning, as Paco Figueroa came around to score after drawing a walk. Figueroa moved to second base on a pass ball and took third base on Danny Figueroa’s sacrifice bunt. Paco scored on a Ryan Owens’ balk for a 2-1 Miami lead.
Miami will travel to Tennessee for a three-game series that will begin on Friday, March 7, at 3 p.m. Game two of the series is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 8, with the series finale beginning at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 9.
For more information on UM athletics or for tickets, visit Miami’s official athletics web site at hurricanesports.com.
