No. 8 Miami Comes From Seven Back to Sweep NC State, 9-7
March 8, 2009
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The eighth-ranked University of Miami baseball team came from seven runs down after three innings to pick up a 9-7 win over NC State Sunday at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field. The come-from-behind win for the Hurricanes secured the team’s second series sweep in as many weekends as well as the program’s first-ever series sweep of the Wolfpack.
Trailing NC State 7-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth, Miami (10-2, 3-0 ACC) sent 11 batters to the plate in the frame, with seven of the first eight eventually scoring runs to give the `Canes an 8-7 lead after five. Yasmani Grandal led off the scoring with a lead-off home run and after the `Canes batted around, Dave DiNatale smacked a two-out double to left-center, scoring Chris Herrmann from first for what would prove to be the game-winner.
The series sweep over NC State (7-5, 0-3) marks the second straight year the `Canes swept their first ACC opponent. It also marked the team’s second straight sweep this year after Miami swept No. 12 Florida in Gainesville last weekend.
Junior Kyle Bellamy earned his fourth save of the season, striking out three and holding the Wolfpack hitless in the final 1 1/3 innings. Bellamy entered the game with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth and was able to get the `Canes out of the jam by striking out Harold Riggins. In the ninth, Bellamy induced a fly out to center and after walking a man, struck out the last two batters to secure the win.
Senior Jason Santana won his first game of the season, tossing 3 2/3 scoreless innings in relief of sophomore starter Iden Nazario. Santana, who came on in the third with Miami down seven, allowed just two hits while walking two and striking out three. Junior Taylor Wulf and freshman Sam Robinson filled the gap between Santana and Bellamy, holding NC State to just one hit in two combined innings.
Jason Hagerty’s first career triple scored Scott Lawson for UM’s first run in the fourth. After Grandal’s homer to open the fifth, Jonathan Weislow walked before five of the next six `Canes that came to the plate singled. The last of those singles, Chris Herrmann’s infield single to first, scored Harold Martinez to tie it up before DiNatale’s deciding double.
Freshman Nathan Melendres extended his team-best hitting streak to 12 games with a 3-for-5 performance at the plate Sunday. Lawson also had a productive afternoon for the `Canes going 1-for-2 with a single, two walks, two RBI and two runs scored. Grandal, who finished the day 2-for-4, also scored two runs.
NC State jumped out to a big lead early on, putting five runs on the board in the top of the second and two more in the third to go up 7-0.
Already up 1-0, the Wolfpack hit back-to-back homers with Devon Cartwright smacking a three-run shot to right followed by Moore, whose solo shot just cleared the wall in right. In the top of the third, Cartwright singled through the left side to score Pratt Maynard from third and Harold Riggins from second. From there, Santana and Bellamy kept Wolfpack off the board the rest of the way.
Up by one in the eighth, the Hurricanes added an insurance run when Grandal came across on a Lawson sacrifice fly.
Cartwright (2-for-4) finished with a career-high five RBI for the Wolfpack while Riggins and Andrew Ciencin also finished with two hits apiece.
Making his third start of the season for UM, Nazario allowed six earned runs on six hits while walking one and striking out one in just two innings.
The `Canes will remain at home again this week with a pair of mid-week games against Saint Joseph’s (Pa.) on Tuesday and Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Both games are slated for 6 p.m. starts at Alex Rodriguez Park.
Game Notes
– Junior Jason Hagerty hit his first career triple in the bottom of the fourth.
– Sophomore Yasmani Grandal hit his third home run of the season in the fifth, tying him with Hagerty for the team-lead.
– Freshman Nathan Melendres extended his team-best hitting streak to 12 straight games to open his career with a single in the fifth. Melendres also recorded his first career double in the sixth inning.
– Miami’s seven-run fifth tied the team’s highest scoring inning of the season (seven-run fourth at Florida, 3/4/08).
– Miami’s comeback win after trailing by seven was its biggest since April 16, 2008 when UM beat FAU, 12-10, after trailing 10-3 after four.
Series Notes
– The series sweep over NC State (7-5, 0-3) marks the second straight year the `Canes swept their first ACC opponent (Last season, UM won all three games against Boston College, March 7-9, in Coral Gables).
– The sweep was UM’s third season-opening series sweep versus an ACC opponent in UM’s five years in the league.
– Freshman Nathan Melendres led the team in hitting over the weekend, hitting .400 (6-for-15) with a double and three RBI.
– Jason Hagerty’s three hits on the weekend were all extra-base hits (3B – Sunday; HR, 2B – Saturday).
– Six of Miami’s nine pitchers on the weekend did not allow an earned run, with Kyle Bellamy (4.1) and Taylor Wulf (2.2) each turning in two scoreless outings.
– Miami’s pitching staff finished the weekend with a 3.30 ERA, allowing just 11 earned runs in 30 innings. NC State’s pitchers combined for an ERA of 5.53 (17 earned runs in 27.2 innings).
– Miami hit .235 as a team this weekend while NC State hit just .202.
– Eight Hurricanes scored multiple runs on the weekend, with Harold Martinez, Chris Herrmann and Ryan Jackson all scoring three apiece.
– Miami out-scored NC State, 20-13, on the weekend.
– Miami now leads the all-time series with NC State, 22-10. With the three wins this weekend, the `Canes have won six of the last seven against the Wolfpack.
– The series sweep was Miami’s second in as many weekends after UM took all three games from No. 12 Florida in Gainesville last weekend.
