Hurricanes Drop Series Finale To North Carolina, 9-6
April 9, 2006
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) – The 17th-ranked University of Miami baseball team couldn’t dig itself out of an early hole in a 9-6 loss to sixth-ranked North Carolina Sunday afternoon at Mark Light Field. Miami (24-12, 9-6 ACC) and North Carolina (27-7, 9-6) are now tied for first place in the ACC Coastal Division, with UNC owning the tie-breaker with the series victory.
Senior right fielder Tommy Giles went 2-for-4 with two doubles and freshman Dennis Raben knocked in two runs and went 2-for-4 to lead the Hurricanes. North Carolina third baseman and leadoff man Reid Fronk hit two home runs and drove in four runs.
Giles batted .583 in the three-game series with four doubles and a home run. Fronk hit .600 in the series with a double, triple, two home runs and six runs scored.
UM starter Scott Maine (5-2) pitched 4.2 innings, allowing eight runs, six earned, off seven hits in his second straight loss. Tar Heel reliever Jonathan Hovis (6-2) gave up one hit in 3.1 innings of relief to earn the win. Closer Andrew Carignan pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn his eighth save of the season and second of the series.
UNC’s Tim Federowicz hit a solo home run to right to open the scoring in the second inning. Matt Spencer walked and Bryan Steed doubled to put men on second and third. Mike Cavasinni scored Spencer with a single and Steed scored on Fronk’s sacrifice fly to put the Tar Heels up 3-0.
Miami put one on the board in the second when Danny Valencia scored all the way from first on Richard Giles’ double.
Back-to-back home runs in the by Fronk and Chad Flack pushed the Tar Heel lead up to 6-1.
The Hurricanes rallied with a four-run, six-hit fifth inning to cut the Tar Heel lead to 8-6. Jemile Weeks tripled and scored on a Jon Jay single. Yonder Alonso followed with a two-run blast to center. Giles recorded his second double of the game to set up an RBI single by Raben.
Miami reliever Jon McLean retired eight straight Tar Heels before Fronk hit his second another home run in the top of the eighth to complete the scoring at 9-6.
