No. 5 Seed Hurricanes Fall to No. 8 Seed Wake Forest, 7-3
May 27, 2007
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -Wake Forest’s Ben Hunter struck out eight in six innings and Alan Dykstra drove in three runs to lift the eighth-seeded Demon Deacons to a 7-3 win over No. 5 seed Miami, 7-3, in the final game of pool play in Division A of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. Jemile Weeks and Gus Menendez each went 2-for-4 for the Hurricanes (36-22), who were eliminated from advancing to the championship game after Clemson defeated Florida State earlier in the day.
The Demon Deacons advanced to the ACC Tournament Championship Game against No. 2 seed North Carolina.
Miami out-hit the Demon Deacons (33-26), 8-7. UM starter Enrique Garcia (7-4) lasted just 4 1/3 innings, allowed five runs, walked four and struck out four. John Housey, Teddy Kaufman and Danny Gil combined to throw 3 2/3 scoreless innings to end the game.
Hunter held the Hurricanes to two runs on six hits in six innings. Eric Niesen and Josh Ellis tossed the final three innings and combined for six strikeouts. Wake Forest struck out 14 Hurricane hitters. Andy Goff also went 2-for3 for the Demon Deacons.
Wake Forest extended its lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the sixth when Evan Ocheltree scored on a fielding error. Dustin Hood’s sacrifice fly then made it, 7-2.
Weeks led off the bottom of the eighth with a triple to the left center gap. Two outs later, he ended up scoring on a fielding error bringing the Hurricanes within, 7-3. Ellis struck out two Hurricanes in the ninth and forced a groundout to end the game.
Miami squandered an opportunity in the bottom of the `sixth loading bases on a Dennis Raben walk and back-to-back singles from Weeks and Mark Sobolewski. Hunter was able to get Menendez to hit into a fielder’s choice, strike out O’Brien looking and get a ground ball from Dave DiNatale ending the threat.
The Demon Deacons took a 5-2 advantage in the top of the fifth. Dykstra’s RBI single gave Wake Forest a 3-2 lead. The Demon Deacons loaded the bases before fielder’s choice allowed Dustin Hood to score making it, 4-2. Dykstra scored on a passed ball for the three-run Wake lead.
Dykstra’s two-run home run down the right field line tied the game, 2-2, in the top of the third inning.
O’Brien’s second home run of the tournament scored Menendez to give Miami a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second.
Miami now awaits the NCAA Regional selection field. Regional sites will be announced Sunday at 3:15 p.m. on ESPN. The 64-team NCAA Regional field will be announced Monday at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN.
Post-Game Notes
– Senior catcher Richard O’Brien hit his second home run of the ACC Tournament in the second inning against Wake Forest. He now has 10 career home runs – four have come against Florida State.
– Second baseman Jemile Weeks led the team in the tournament hitting .427 (7-for-15) with five RBI. Sophomore first baseman Yonder Alonso hit .400 in the tournament with five walks.
-Since returning to the lineup against North Florida, Jemile Weeks is hitting .351 (28-for-78) with 22 runs, eight-extra base hits and 14 RBI.
– Senior infielder Roger Tomas had his eight-game hitting streak snapped while freshman left fielder Mark Sobolewski extended his to eight games. Sobolewski has hit safely in 28 of the last 29 games.
