Valencia's Slam Leads The Hurricanes In 7-3 Win At Florida State
April 14, 2006
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) – Danny Valencia’s fifth-inning grand slam shifted the momentum in Miami’s favor and lifted the Hurricanes to a 7-3 win against second-ranked Florida State Friday night in front of the largest crowd in Dick Howser Stadium history. A sellout crowd of 6,696 watched No. 22 Miami (25-12, 10-6 ACC) end the Seminoles’ (32-5 overall, 12-4 ACC) 32-game home-winning streak.
Florida State, which entered the game with the country’s best won-loss record, lost at home for the first time since a 6-2 loss to Virginia on May 1, 2005.
Valencia’s season-high five RBI highlighted a 12-hit Miami attack and was the only performance to overshadow a career night from freshman Jemile Weeks. Weeks went 4-for-5 with a double and two runs scored to pace the Hurricanes.
Miami starter Carlos Gutierrez looked more like the pitcher who started the season 7-1 than someone who had lost his last two starts entering Friday’s game. Gutierrez (8-3) kept Florida State’s hitters off-balance and allowed two runs on five hits, all singles in 6.0 innings with five strikeouts and four walks. It was his first win since defeating Maryland on March 24.
Florida State’s Bryan Henry (8-2) was charged with his second loss of the season and gave up a season-high five runs in 6.0 innings on five hits.
Weeks got Miami started with a leadoff single and moved to second on a one-out walk to Yonder Alonso. Valencia singled to left to drive in Weeks and give Miami a 1-0 lead.
Gutierrez held the lead and the Seminoles until the fourth inning. Jack Rye singled to record FSU’s first hit of the night and Buster Posey hit a high chopper to short to put runners on first and second to start the inning. Ryne Malone advanced the runners to second and third with a grounder before Tony Thomas Jr. hit a sacrifice fly to left to drive in Rye to tie the game at 1-1. Posey scored from second on Dennis Guinn’s soft single up the middle to give Florida State a 2-1 lead.
Valencia erased the deficit with his first career grand slam and took a partisan FSU crowd out of the game in the Miami fifth. Blake Tekotte reached on an error and advanced to third on Weeks’ double to left-center. Henry intentionally walked Jon Jay to load the bases and forced Alonso to pop up for the second out of the inning. Valencia trailed early before working the count full on Henry. The payoff pitch was in Valencia’s wheelhouse and ended up sailing high over the left field fence.
It was only the second home run Henry had given up all season and the first grand slam the Seminoles had allowed this year.
FSU didn’t go quietly, scoring one run in the seventh and leaving a total of eight men on base over the last three innings.
UM setup man Danny Gil stepped on the mound to start the seventh and fanned the first two batters he faced. Shane Robinson ripped a single to left and Gil walked Rye, bringing the tying run to the plate in Posey. Posey doubled off the right field wall to score Robinson and cut Miami’s lead to 5-3. Lefty Andrew Lane spelled Gil and set down Malone looking to extinguish the Florida State rally and end the inning.
Dennis Raben pushed Miami’s lead back to three runs with a one-out double to right in the eighth off Brian Chambers, scoring Richard O’Brien from second. Nick Freitas pinch-ran for Raben and moved to third on Walter Diaz’s single to left. Matt DiBlasi replaced Chambers and gave up a fielder’s choice RBI to Tekotte, giving Miami a 7-3 advantage.
Closer Chris Perez came on to pitch the eighth and ninth innings for UM and fought off two FSU surges. The Seminoles loaded the bases with two outs in both innings and forced Perez to throw 60 pitches. He got Robinson to fly out to center to end the eighth and Weeks tagged second for the force out on a grounder to end the game.
The Seminoles stranded 13 runners and Miami left six on base.
Miami and FSU meet again Saturday at 7 p.m. at Dick Howser Stadium. The game will be televised by FSN Florida.
