No. 1 Hurricanes Knock Off North Florida, 5-2
May 13, 2008
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Sophomore right-hander David Gutierrez struck out five in six innings and junior first baseman Yonder Alonso homered for the 16th time – the eventual game winner – as No. 1 Miami topped North Florida, 5-2, Tuesday night at Mark Light Field in the final nonconference game of the regular season. Jemile Weeks added a pair of doubles for the Hurricanes, who improved to 42-6 on the season before their big showdown with No. 2 North Carolina.
David Gutierrez remained perfect on the season running his record to 3-0. He allowed just one earned run on three hits and walked two. Anthony Nalepa, P.J. Fisher, Kyle Bellamy and Carlos Gutierrez combined to toss the final three innings.
Alonso went 2-for-2 with two runs scored, two RBI and two walks. He gave Miami the lead for good with a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Weeks went 2-for-4 with two doubles and a run scored.
UNF starter Jonathan Turner lost for the fifth time as he gave up just two earned runs on five hits in six innings. Turner issued three walks and recorded two strikeouts. Shortstop Chad Knight led the Ospreys (27-25) going 2-for-4 with one the two runs scored. Designated hitter Travis Martin and reserve third baseman Sam Perry each drove in a run.
Miami trailed 1-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth. Weeks hit a two-out double down the left field line before Alonso blasted a two-run home run down the right field line giving Miami a 2-1 lead.
The Hurricanes tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the seventh to go ahead, 5-1. Dave DiNatale led off the seventh with a triple down the right field line and scored on Blake Tekotte’s single to left giving UM a two-run lead. After Tekotte’s 21st steal of the season, Mark Sobolewski ripped a base-hit up the middle making it 4-1. Alonso then scored when Raben walked on a wild pitch that allowed Alonso to score from second to make it, 5-1.
Perry’s RBI single in the top of the ninth provided UNF’s final run.
The Ospreys took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth after Knight led off the inning with a double and advanced on a sacrifice bunt. Martin’s sacrifice fly plated him for the game’s first run.
Miami will now wrap up regular season play Thursday, Friday and Saturday when the top-ranked Hurricanes host No. 2 North Carolina for a three-game ACC series. Game times are 7 p.m., 7 p.m. and 1 p.m. All three games will be televised with games on Thursday and Friday shown on CSS. RSN (FSN Florida/SunSports/Comcast Sports Network) will air the game on Saturday. All three games can be heard on WVUM (90.5 FM) and WQAM (560 AM). Games on Friday and Saturday will be broadcasted in Spanish on WWWK 105.FM and WPIK 102.5 FM.
Game and Notes
-Junior first baseman Yonder Alonso hit his sixth home run in the last 10 games in the fifth inning. He needs just two more to tie his season-high.
– Miami won its 12th midweek game of the season and finished its midweek schedule, 12-2.
– Junior second baseman Jemile Weeks hit doubles No. 14 and No. 15 to give him 29 extra-base hits.
– Sophomore right-hander David Gutierrez matched a career-high six innings pitched Tuesday. He now is 3-0 with a 3.20 ERA.
