Hurricanes Rebound With 16-3 Win Against George Washington
Feb. 27, 2005
Coral Gables, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) – The sixth-ranked Miami Hurricanes bounced back from a Saturday-night loss and improved their record to 10-3 with a 16-3 win against George Washington (5-4) Sunday afternoon at Mark Light Field. Ryan Braun, Jon Jay, Danny Valencia and freshman Walter Diaz each had four hits, accounting for 16 of the Hurricanes’ season-high 18-hit performance.
Braun and Valencia both hit three-run home runs, while Diaz and freshman catcher Alex Garabedian both hit the first four-baggers of their collegiate careers. Valencia, a sophomore transfer from UNC-Greensboro, went 4-for-4 with a career-high five RBIs and two doubles in addition to his home run.
UM starter Chris Perez pitched five innings, struck out eight batters and gave up three unearned runs to improve his record to 3-1 on the season. George Washington starter Dan Sullivan pitched 2.1 innings and gave up five runs on five hits to drop to 1-2.
Braun wasted no time in getting Miami on the scoreboard with a mammoth three-run home run to center field in the first inning. It was Braun’s sixth home run of the season and second of the George Washington series.
Jay scored Paco Figueroa from third base with a single to left for a 4-0 Miami lead in the third. Braun brought Jay in with a double to right-center for Miami’s fifth run, ending Dan Sullivan’s day on the mound with one out in the inning.
Diaz took advantage of an outbound wind and hit his first collegiate home run off Nate CasaGrande in the fourth for a 6-0 lead. CasaGrande hit Danny Figueroa and walked Paco Figueroa before giving up a two-run double to Jay that put Miami up 8-0.
GW’s Josh Goldberg hit a three-run shot off the scoreboard in left field to bring the Colonials within 8-3 in the top of the fifth. Miami answered with an RBI single by Garabedian to score Valencia for a 9-3 lead at the end of five.
Valencia knocked in Jay and Braun with a two-run double in the sixth. Garabedian led off the Hurricane seventh with his first collegiate home run over the scoreboard in left field. Diaz followed with a double and scored on a grounder hit by Paco Figueroa for a 13-3 lead. Jay and Braun collected their fourth hits of the game and were brought home by Valencia for the second consecutive inning, this time on a three-run home run to left for the final 16-3 score.
Andrew Lane and Vince Bongiovanni combined for four innings of three-hit scoreless relief to close out the game for Miami.
Miami begins a busy week of baseball with an exhibition game against the Florida Marlins in Jupiter, Fla., on Tuesday, March 1 at 3 p.m. The Hurricanes take on Northeastern the following night at 7 p.m. at Mark Light Field and begin their inaugural ACC slate with a weekend series against North Carolina State, March 4-6.
Notes
Jay has hit safely in 26 of the last 27 games, dating back to the 2004 season… Danny Figueroa moved into fifth place on Miami’s all-time hit-by-pitch list when he was plunked in the fourth inning for the 24th time in his career… Jay improved his season batting average to .531… The UM starters combined for 27 strikeouts, four walks and no earned runs in 18 innings in the GW series.
