UM Defeats High Point 12-5
Feb. 4, 2005
Coral Gables, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) – University of Miami junior third baseman Ryan Braun batted in three runs and Jon Jay and Paco Figueroa each went 2-for-3 and scored three runs to key a 12-5 victory for the Hurricanes against High Point at Mark Light Field Friday night.
The Panthers opened the scoring in the first inning, 1-0, with a bases-loaded RBI single to left field from Mark Shorey. Josh Doane led off the inning with an infield single to the second baseman, moved to third on a single by Chris Ramirez and scored on Shorey’s base hit.
Miami took the lead, 3-1, in the bottom of the first inning scoring two runs on two consecutive wild pitches. The Hurricanes tied the game with a Ryan Braun sacrifice fly scoring lead-off hitter Walter Diaz.Paco Figueroa and Jon Jay scored on consecutive wild pitches from Panther starter Robert Bland.
High Point answered with three runs in the top of the second. Ro Castro reached first on an error and stole second and third before Matt Christie drove him home on a fielder’s choice. The Panthers tied the game at 3-3 two batters later on a double by Doane. Ramirez dropped a double in front of a diving Brendan Katin to score Doane for a 4-3 lead.
Braun’s second sacrifice fly of the game in the bottom half of the third drove in Figueroa and tied the game at 4-4.
Miami took control of the game in the fifth inning. With one out and the bases loaded, Katin found a hole in the middle of the High Point defense and drove in Diaz and Braun for a 6-4 lead. High Point managed a run in the top half of the sixth to come within 6-5, but it was as close as the Panthers would get.
Figueroa led off the Miami half of the seventh with a triple and was driven home on a line-drive single to left field by Braun for an 8-5 lead. Braun stole second and advanced to third before being driven home by Tomas on a fielder’s choice. Jon Jay scored on a wild pitch by Matt Schlanger for a 10-5 lead. Miami added two more runs on an RBI single by Danny Valencia, who would finish the scoring when he crossed the plate on a throwing error.
Sophomore pitcher Ricky Orta struck out two in 2.1 innings of relief to pick up his first win of the season. Senior starter Dan Touchet pitched four innings for the Hurricanes and gave up four runs (three earned) on six hits. Touchet struck out four and retired the last seven batters he faced. Freshman Carlos Gutierrez made his collegiate debut and pitched two scoreless innings to close out the game. Robert Bland gave up seven runs in 4.1 innings and got the loss for High Point.
The Hurricanes (2-0) and Panthers (0-1) will play the second game of their three-game series at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 5 at Mark Light Field.
Notes… Braun’s two sacrifice RBIs tied a school record… Friday’s game was the first-ever meeting between the two schools… New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez threw out the opening pitch.
