Hurricanes Deliver Dose of Revenge in 17-3 Rout of South Florida
March 17, 2004
TAMPA – J.D. Cockroft took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and the Miami bats erupted for 19 hits as the sixth-ranked Hurricanes routed South Florida 17-3 in front of 1,058 fans at Red McEwen Field.
Cockroft pitched six innings, allowing two runs on only two hits to earn his first win (1-2) of the season. He struck out five and walked two in his longest outing of the season.
Adam Ricks homered from both sides of the plate and drove in a career high six runs. Jon Jay, along with Ricks, collected four hits to fuel the Hurricanes’ offense.
The win improves Miami’s record to 16-4 on the season after the Bulls snapped the Hurricanes’ 11-game winning streak on Tuesday night. South Florida falls to 14-6 on the season.
The Hurricanes broke the game open in the fifth inning with three runs, highlighted by a two-RBI triple off the bat of Brian Barton. Jon Jay led off the inning with single and Jim Burt followed with a double off the glove of a diving Jeremy Bellotti in center field.
USF starter Daniel Albritton took the loss, pitching four innings and allowing seven runs (seven earned) on nine hits.
Miami benefited from four Bulls’ errors in the sixth inning and Ricks’ second home run of the game to take a 13-1 lead. Jay contributed a two-RBI double and Erick San Pedro added a RBI single in UM’s six-run sixth inning.
Adam Ricks got the Hurricanes on the board on Albritton second pitch of the second inning, lining his third home run off the scoreboard in right field.
Paco Figueroa’s lead-off walk in the third inning would come around to score on Brian Barton’s infield single. UM would tack on two more runs with a RBI ground out by Erick San Pedro and a RBI single from Adam Ricks.
Miami tacked on four more runs in the seventh inning with the help of a Ricks’ two-RBI double down the left-field line.
South Florida scored its first run with a sacrifice fly of the bat of Myron Leslie in the third inning. USF scored the run without the help of a base hit, as Cockroft walked two hitters and hit another.
The Hurricanes return home for a 3 p.m. first pitch with Illinois-Chicago on Friday, March 19, at Mark Light Field. The three-game series with the Flames continues on Saturday, March 20, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, March 21, at 7 p.m.
