May 14, 2006
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) – Miami spotted Wake Forest six runs for the second time in as many games, but couldn’t duplicate Saturday’s comeback win, falling to the Demon Deacons, 8-5, in the series finale Sunday afternoon at Mark Light Field. The loss snapped the 20th-ranked Hurricanes’ seven-game winning streak and dropped their season record to 34-17 overall and 16-11 in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Sunday’s ninth inning looked very similar to the 10th inning of Miami’s 11-10 win the previous night. Yonder Alonso faced Wake Forest closer Ben Hunter with one out and the game on the line, as he did on Saturday. Alonso won the first round, hitting the game-winning RBI single on Saturday. It was Hunter’s turn on Sunday as he forced Alonso, the potential winning run, to hit into a game-ending 4-3 double play to salvage the final game of the series for the Demon Deacons.
Miami had fought back from deficits of 6-0 and 10-7 to win Saturday’s game and clinch a series victory.
Freshman Jemile Weeks led Sunday’s comeback attempt, going 4-for-4 with two doubles, a triple, two stolen bases and two runs scored. Miami’s bullpen kept hope alive with 8.1 innings of solid pitching, yielding two runs and six hits with five strikeouts and one walk to keep the Hurricanes in contention. Jon McLean spelled starter Ricky Orta with two outs in the first and provided a career-high 4.1 innings of relief, giving up one run on four hits with three strikeouts. Danny Gil worked 2.2 innings and gave up a run before Chris Perez came on to retire the last four batters of the game, consecutively.Justin Keadle (5-2) gave up four earned runs in seven innings on seven hits with four strikeouts and two walks to pick up the win for the Demon Deacons. Brett Linnenkohl doubled, tripled and drove in three runs, and Austin Jones knocked in three more to lead Wake Forest.
Wake Forest (33-17 overall, 16-10 ACC Atlantic) bolted to a 6-0 lead, chasing Orta (2-2) two-thirds of the way through the first inning. Orta gave up six runs on four hits, walking two and hitting another. Linnenkohl drew a bases-loaded walk for Wake’s first run. The Demon Deacons’ next five runs came with two outs on an infield RBI single from Dustin Hood, Jones’ three-run double and another run-scoring double from Andy Goff.
Miami gained some ground in the first. Weeks led off with a double to left and stole third with two outs, setting up Danny Valencia’s RBI single.
The Demon Deacons kept the pressure on in the second, starting the inning with a pair of singles from Evan Ocheltree and Allan Dykstra. McLean struck out the next two batters and forced Tyler Smith to fly out to end the inning.
McLean held the Deacs scoreless until the fourth, giving up a RBI triple to Linnenkohl to put the score at 7-1.
Linnenkohl hit a RBI double down the right field line in the sixth off Gil to score Weldon Woodall and put the score at 8-1.
Miami cut the lead to 8-4 in the sixth. Eddy Rodriguez drove Jay in from second with a single for UM’s second run of the game. Keadle walked Dennis Raben to put runners on first and second with Roger Tomas coming to the plate. Tomas’ single to center drove in Rodriguez and was mishandled by Ocheltree, which allowed Raben to make the turn at third and score as well.
Weeks hit his second double of the game to lead off the Hurricane seventh and moved to third on Tommy Giles’ grounder to first. Jay’s sac fly to center brought in Weeks to trim the lead to 8-5.
It was as close as the Hurricanes would get. Hunter loaded the bases by giving up a pair of singles to Weeks and Giles, and walking Valencia with one out in the ninth. Alonso’s bouncer to second was fielded by Goff, who turned the game-ending double play.
The Hurricanes will play North Florida in their last regular-season home game on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Mark Light Field. The game will be televised by Comcast Sports Southeast.
NOTES: Weeks’ triple was his eighth of the season, tying him with Kirk Dulom (1987) for the third-most in a season in Miami history … Weeks needs one more triple to tie the single-season record of nine, set by Charles Johnson in 1990 and Mike Metcalfe in 1993 … Valencia extended his hitting streak to a career-best 12 games … Jay scored for the 11th consecutive game.