Miami's Run Ends With a 16-5 Loss to Top-Seeded Florida
May 31, 2009
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Miami baseball team’s 2009 season came to a close Sunday night with a 16-5 loss to top-seeded Florida in the championship game of the NCAA Gainesville Regional at McKethan Stadium.
The second-seeded Hurricanes close out the season with an overall mark of 38-22 while Florida improves to 42-20 and advances to next weekend’s Super Regional round.
Miami fell behind 5-0 in the top of the first and was never able to recover. UM responded with a run in the bottom of the first but the Gators scored one in the second, another in the third and seven in the fifth before pulling away for the 11-run win.
UM starter Iden Nazario (6-5) suffered the loss for UM, allowing five earned runs in 1/3 of an inning. Jason Santana allowed two runs in three innings of work in relief of Nazario, but Sam Robinson and John Housey allowed a combined nine earned runs over the next two innings. Daniel Miranda tossed 1 2/3 scoreless before Kyle Bellamy struck out three and allowed just one hit over the final two frames.
UF reliever Patrick Keating earned the victory, tossing 1 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of starter Alex Panteliodis. Panteliodis allowed five runs on eight hits while walking one and striking out six before exiting after 4 2/3 innings. After Keating exited after six, Nick Maronde, Tony Davis and Billy Bullock went the rest of the way.
Jason Hagerty went 1-for-4 with a homer – his third of the regional – and three RBI, Scott Lawson had three hits and two runs scored while five other `Canes finished with two hits.
Preston Tucker went 4-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored while Jonathan Pigott, Brandon McCarthur and Mike Mooney all finished with three hits. Piggot and Avery Barnes each scored three runs for UF.
Tucker’s bloop single brought in the Gators’ first run in the top of the first after a walk and double gave UF runners in scoring position. Florida then managed to load the bases with no outs in the top of the fourth and went ahead 2-0 on Matt den Dekker’s sacrifice fly to center. McArthur’s RBI single to right center put the Gators ahead, 3-0. Teddy Foster’s RBI double down the left field line made it 4-0. An RBI groundout then pushed it to 5-0.
The Hurricanes scratched across a run in the bottom of the first. Lawson led off with a double and later scored on Yasmani Grandal’s sacrifice fly bringing Miami within, 5-1.
Florida added a run in the top of the second on den Dekker’s run-scoring single to go ahead, 6-1. Mooney drove in a run in the top of the third as UF led, 7-1.
The Gators pulled away with a seven-run fifth inning to go ahead, 14-1.
Hagerty `s three-run blast in the bottom of the fifth brought Miami within, 14-4. After a Chris Herrmann double, Dave DiNatale’s infield RBI single brought the Hurricanes within, 14-5. Florida tacked on two more runs in the top of the sixth extending it to 16-5.
Game Notes
– Junior RHP David Gutierrez and junior first baseman Jason Hagerty were named to the 2009 NCAA Gainesville Regional All-Tournament Team.
– Junior second baseman Scott Lawson hit his team-leading 21st double in the first inning.
– Head coach Jim Morris was ejected after the bottom of the first inning. The last time he was ejected from a game was June 19, 2006 against Rice in the College World Series.
– Jason Hagerty hit his 14th home run and third home run of the NCAA Gainesville Regional in the bottom of the fifth.
– Junior closer Kyle Bellamy tossed two scoreless innings, finishing the season with an ERA under one (0.97).
