Miami Comeback Falls Short In 14-11 Loss To Florida
Feb. 21, 2005
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) – The second-ranked Miami Hurricanes (8-2) baseball team’s attempt to overcome an early 10-run deficit fell short in a 14-11 loss to 15th-ranked Florida (5-2) in front of 5,178 fans at McKethan Stadium on Sunday, Feb. 20.
UM freshmen Alex Garabedian and Walter Diaz both had career games. Garabedian was 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs and two RBI. Diaz collected three hits in four at bats to go along with one run and two RBIs. Junior Danny Figueroa had three hits and Ryan Braun and Jon Jay both had two RBIs for the Hurricanes.
Florida had two-RBI performances from Adam Davis, Matt LaPorta, Justin Tordi and Bryson Barber. Tommy Boss pitched five innings and gave up six earned runs to pick up the win. UM sophomore pitcher Chris Perez was charged with his first loss of the season.
Danny Figueroa led off the scoring in the first, tagging from third on a sacrifice fly to center by Braun. Jay followed with a line drive to center field that was misplayed by a diving Jeff Corsaletti. Jay sped around the bases and slid across home plate to beat the throw for a 2-0 Miami lead.
The Gators answered with a six-run first inning that knocked Perez out of the game. Perez walked four of the first five Gators he faced, including a bases-loaded walk to Brian Jeroloman that scored Davis to bring UF within 2-1. Perez gave up consecutive run-scoring doubles to Tordi and Leclerc before he gave way to UM senior reliever Vince Bongiovanni. Bongiovanni gave up a two-run single to Barber that scored Tordi and Leclerc to put Florida up 6-2 at the end of one inning.
Florida went up 7-2 in the third inning when Brandon MacArthur scored from third on a wild pitch by Bongiovanni, who was then replaced by freshman Carlos Gutierrez. Jeroloman scored when Gutierrez hit a Gator batter. Davis followed with a two-run single to score Leclerc and Barber for a 10-2 lead. The Gators scored two more runs in the inning on wild pitches by Manny Miguelez to lead 12-2 heading into the fifth inning.
The UM bats awoke in the fifth for five runs. Diaz hit an RBI single to bring home Brendan Katin. Paco Figueroa hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Garabedian. Braun knocked in Diaz and Jay hit a two-run double that scored Danny Figueroa and Braun to make the score 12-7. Miami took its offensive momentum into a three-run sixth inning. Garabedian hit a two-run double to right to bring in Danny Valencia and Roger Tomas. Danny Figueroa brought in Garabedian with another single to put the score at 12-10.
Just when it looked as if the momentum had completely shifted in Miami’s favor, LaPorta crushed a two-run homer off UM freshman reliever Raudel Alfonso to give the Gators a 14-10 lead at the end of seven.
Diaz collected his third hit of the night to score Katin from third in the top of the eighth to put the score at 14-11.
The Hurricanes return to action this Friday, Feb. 25, in the first game of a three-game series with George Washington. The first pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Notes: Miami experienced back-to-back regular season losses for the first time since dropping two in a row to Jacksonville on May 10 and 11 of the 2003 season… The total attendance for the three-game series with Florida was 13,970, the highest total for a three-game series at McKethan Stadium.
