No. 5 Miami Drops Gators in Series Finale, 10-7
Feb. 18, 2007
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – – Yonder Alonso and Jemile Weeks combined for seven hits while Jason Santana picked up his first win as No. 5 Miami downed Florida, 10-7, in the final game of their three-game series. Enrique Garcia earned his first save of the season for the Hurricanes, who snapped a seven-game series losing streak to the Gators.
Weeks finished 4-for-5 and fell one home run shy of hitting for the cycle. Alonso went 3-for-4 with three RBIs while freshman Mark Sobolewski was 2-for-5 with three RBI. Roger Tomas, Ryan Jackson, Richard O’Brien and Blake Tekotte each had one hit.
Santana tossed 3.2 innings in relief and held UF to one hit and struck out two. John Housey pitched 2.1 innings in relief while Dennis Raben and Garcia tossed scoreless innings.
Matt LaPorta led UF going 2-for-5 with five RBI. He ended the game when he grounded out into a double play.
UM scratched across another run loading the bases on an error, a Blake Tekotte single to center field and a Weeks single along the right field line. Gus Menendez’s pinch-hit ground out scored Richard O’Brien giving UM a 9-7 lead. Miami took a 10-7 lead when DiNatale battled for a bases loaded walk that scored
LaPorta’s second home run of the game brought the Gators within, 8-7, in the bottom of the seventh. His two-run shot landed over the wall in center field to also score Jon Townsend, who reached on an error.
Alonso drove in a pair of runs in the top of the fourth in a four-run inning. Weeks walked and moved to second on Roger Tomas’ base-hit. After a wild pitch advanced the runners, Alonso ripped a single down the right field line that hit off of LaPorta’s glove scoring Weeks and Tomas putting UM ahead, 6-5. After Dave DiNatale reached on a fielder’s choice and back-to-back walks to Jackson and Raben loaded the bases, Sobolewski laced a two-run single to right field extending the UM lead, 8-5.
LaPorta’s three-run home run highlighted a five-run bottom of the first for the Gators pulling them within, 4-3. Florida tied the game, 4-4, on Cody Neer’s base-bit up the middle. Clayton Pisani put UF ahead, 5-4, when he singled up the middle to plate Neer.
Miami scored in the top of the first for the second straight day. Weeks tripled to left center and scored on Roger Tomas ground out. Alonso belted his fifth home run of the season giving the Hurricanes a 2-0 lead. The Hurricanes tacked on two more runs with two outs. Dennis Raben walked and Ryan Jackson singled. Sobolewski’s RBI single to center field scored Raben extending the UM lead to 3-0. Richard O’Brien then drove in Jackson to make it, 4-0.
Miami returns to action next weekend when the Hurricanes host Elon at Mark Light Field. Game times are 7 p.m., 7 p.m. and 1 p.m.
