17th-Ranked Hurricanes Fall Behind Early In 8-7 Loss To No. 6 North Carolina
April 7, 2006
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) – It was too little, too late for the No. 17 Miami baseball team in an 8-7 loss to No. 6 North Carolina in front of 2,216 at Mark Light Field Friday night. The Hurricanes gave up runs in each of the first six innings and were unable to climb out of an 8-3 hole, en route to their fourth-straight loss.
Miami starter Carlos Gutierrez (7-3) gave up five runs, four earned in 3.2 innings on the mound. Tar Heel ace Andrew Miller went six-plus innings to improve to 7-0, giving up five hits and four runs (two earned) with four walks and three strikeouts. UNC closer Andrew Carignan struck out four batters in two scoreless innings to earn his seventh save of the season.
Junior designated hitter Richard O’Brien hit his first two home runs as a Hurricane and drove in a career-high four runs to lead Miami. Catcher Eddy Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with a sac fly RBI.
Tim Federowicz, Benji Johnson and Bryan Steed all homered as part of North Carolina’s 12-hit attack. Chad Flack scored two runs and went 3-for-4, including his first career triple to pace the Tar Heels.
The Hurricanes missed on their scoring opportunities where the Tar Heels took advantage in the first six innings. Miami left eight on base and at least one runner stranded in each of the first six innings while North Carolina scored in each inning and steadily built an 8-3 lead.
UM reliever Marcelo Albir finally stopped the bleeding for the Hurricanes with a 1-2-3 seventh. The Hurricane hitters responded with four runs in its half of the seventh to close the gap to 8-7. Jonathan Hovis spelled Miller after Yonder Alonso reached on an error to the shortstop. Hovis walked Danny Valencia and gave up a RBI double to Tommy Giles to cut the lead to 8-4. Rodriguez hit a sacrifice fly to center to bring in Valencia. O’Brien smashed his second two-run home run of the night to left to bring Miami within a run.
Miami had one more scoring opportunity in the eighth when Jemile Weeks reached third base with two outs. But Carignan struck out Valencia to end the inning and struck out the side in the ninth to shut the door on the Hurricanes.
UNC took a 1-0 lead before Miami could record an out. Gutierrez hit Reid Fronk to start the game and gave up a single to Flack to put runners on the corners. A wild pitch to Josh Horton brought Fronk in from third.
Johnson doubled the Tar Heels’ lead in the second, putting a two-out, 2-2 pitch over the center field fence for a 2-0 cushion.
North Carolina doubled its lead again with two runs in the third. Jay Cox hit a one-out bases-loaded sacrifice fly to drive in Flack. Gutierrez hit Tim Federowicz to load the bases again with Matt Spencer coming to the plate. UM shortstop Walter Diaz mishandled Spencer’s grounder, allowing Horton to score for the 4-0 lead.
UM got on the board in the third with a two-out RBI single from Valencia.
Steed hit Gutierrez’s first pitch of the fourth inning out of the park to left for a 5-0 lead. Gutierrez was spelled two batters later by Jon McLean, who retired Seth Williams to end the inning.
Miami cut the lead to 5-3 in the fourth with O’Brien’s first career home run. O’Brien followed Rodriguez’s leadoff single with a towering shot to left-center. It was the first home run Miller had allowed this season.
Federowicz followed Jay Cox’s leadoff double with a home run to left, allowing UNC to regain its four-run advantage at 7-3. Williams singled in Flack in the sixth to increase UNC’s lead to 8-3.
The series concludes at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Mark Light Field.
NOTES: O’Brien’s two home runs were the most by a Hurricane since Brendan Katin hit two against Virginia Tech on April 9, 2005.
