Miami Handcuffs Seminoles and Records Second Straight Shutout, 10-0
April 16, 2004
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The fourth-ranked Miami Hurricanes shutout the 14th-ranked Florida State Seminoles for the second consecutive game, 10-0, while allowing only three hits in front of 4,621 fans at Mark Light Field.
It marked the first time in UM history the Hurricanes shut the Seminoles out in back-to-back games. The win improved Miami to 27-7 on the season and dropped FSU to 25-12.
J.D. Cockroft tied his season high with seven innings, holding FSU scoreless and allowing only three hits. He also tied his career high and set his season high with eight strikeouts to improve to 3-3 on the season. The win marked Cockroft’s first-ever win over the Seminoles. Vince Bongiovanni pitched the final two innings for Miami.
FSU’s Eddie Cannon suffered the loss after giving up eight runs (seven earned) on nine hits in 4.1 innings. Bryan Zech, Eddy Martinez-Esteve and Brant Peacher collected the Seminoles’ three hits.
The Miami pitching staff has now held FSU scoreless for 18 straight innings. The back-to-back shutouts are the first since the Hurricanes shutdown Florida International, 2-0, on Feb. 24, 2001, and followed with a 14-0 blanking of Harvard on Feb. 25, 2001.
Jon Jay led Miami’s 12-hit attack with a 3-for-4 performance, while Jim Burt went 2-for-3 with three RBI.
Miami pushed the first run across the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 1-0 lead. Burt lined a two-out single to right field to score Jon Jay who had opened the inning with a single to right field.
The Hurricanes tied the most runs they have ever scored against the Seminoles with eight runs in the fifth inning. The inning was highlighted by eight Miami hits including a home run by Richard Giannotti, who connected for his first of the season.
Prior to tonight’s eight runs in the fifth inning, the Hurricanes scored eight run against the Seminoles on April 19, 1977, to tie the game at 8-8 after trailing 8-0 entering the inning.
Giannotti, who was in a 0-for-14 slump before going 2-for-3 with a RBI last Sunday at Florida State, added a single to go along with his home run and two RBI on Friday night.
UM extended the lead to 10-0 in the sixth inning with a RBI ground out by Brian Barton.
The Hurricanes and Seminoles return to action Saturday at 7 p.m. The first 3,000 fans through the gates will receive a Pat Burrell Bobblehead.
