Seventh-Inning Homers Lift No. 6 UM Past BC, 10-7
March 7, 2008
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CORAL GABLES, <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Fla. – Jason Hagerty, Jemile Weeks, Yonder Alonso and Joey Terdoslavich all homered during a seven-run seventh inning as the No. 6 ranked Miami Hurricanes won its Atlantic Coast Conference opener Friday night against Boston College, 10-7, at Mark Light Field. Hagerty homered twice in the game for the Hurricanes (6-1, 1-0 ACC) who finished with five home runs on the night and tied a school record with four home runs in an inning.
Hagerty had his best performance at the plate as a Hurricane, going 3-for-4 with the two home runs, three RBI and two runs scored. Alonso and Adan Severino also finished with three hits while Weeks finished 2-for-4 with two RBI, two runs and his third home run of the season.
Eric Erickson (3-0) won his third straight game to open the season, holding the Eagles (6-5, 0-1 ACC) to six hits and just one earned run while striking out eight in seven innings of work.
Boston College starter Terry Doyle (1-1) suffered the loss, allowing seven earned runs on 11 hits in six innings. Barry Butera had a solid night at the plate for the Eagles, going 3-for-4 with a home run, a triple, three RBI and three runs scored. Miami out-hit BostonCollege, 14-10.
Miami had taken a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth on Alonso’s RBI single up the middle, which scored Weeks who had tripled to right center.
After a scoreless sixth, the Hurricanes exploded in the bottom of the seventh. Hagerty led off the seventh with his second homer- a solo shot to center field putting Miami ahead, 4-2. After Blake Tekotte reached on a fielding error, Weeks launched his third homer of the season – a towering shot that carried into the parking garage behind the right field fence extending it to 6-2. Alonso followed with his first homer of the season – another blast to right center to make it, 7-2. Still with no outs, Mark Sobolewski then singled before Terdoslavich drove him in with his second home run of the season giving UM a 9-2 lead. Jonathan Weislow’s RBI single capped off the seventh putting the Canes ahead, 10-2.
After Miami’s seven-run seventh, BC made things interesting in the final two innings. Eric Campbell hit a two-run homer in the top of the eighth drawing BC within, 10-4. Butera’s two-run home run in the top of the ninth capped off a three-run ninth to close out the scoring at 10-7.
The Eagles got on the board in the top of the first when Butera scored on a passed ball after tripling to right center giving BC a 1-0 lead.
Miami went up 2-1 with a pair of runs in the bottom of second. Severino singled to left with one out before Hagerty hit his second homer of the season and first of the game with a deep shot to right-center.
BC would get a run back in the top half of the third when a Butera single scored Marc Perdios from second after he had doubled to left tying it, 2-2.
Game two of the series with BostonCollege is slated for Saturday night at 7 p.m. at Mark Light Field. UM RHP Enrique Garcia (0-0, 7.04 ERA) will face BC right-hander Dan Houston (1-0, 8.71 ERA).
Game Notes
§ Jason Hagerty’s two home runs marked the first two-homer game for a Hurricane since Yonder Alonso accomplished the feat on April 27, 2007 against FloridaState in Coral Gables.
§ Jemile Weeks and Yonder Alonso hit back-to-back homers in the seventh, marking the first time UM players hit back-to-back homers since Danny Valencia and Dennis Raben accomplished the feat, June 2, 2006 against San Francisco in the Lincoln Regional.
§ When Jason Hagerty, Jemile Weeks, Yonder Alonso and Joey Terdoslavich all homered in the seventh inning, it marked the first four-homer inning for Miami since Pat Burrell, Aubrey Huff, Russ Jacobson and German Alvarez accomplished the feat on May 23, 1998 against South Carolina in the Coral Gables Regional.
§ The last time UM had three homers in one inning was on May 2, 2003 when Joey Hooft, Ryan Braun and Gaby Sanchez accomplished the feat against Pace.
§ Jemile Weeks moved within three triples of the UM career record when he hit his 15th career triple in the fifth inning.
§ Sophomore LHP Eric Erickson struck out at least six batters for the third time this season. He now has 23 strikeouts in 19 2/3 innings.
