Mountaineers Even Series with a 7-5 Win Over No. 20 Miami

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The 20th-ranked University of Miami baseball team lost to visiting Appalachian State Friday night, 7-5, in the second game of a three-game series at Alex Rodriguez Park.

The rubber game is slated for Saturday at 1 p.m.

After winning the opener Thursday by a score of 6-3, Miami (3-3) fell behind early Friday night and was never able to recover. Appalachian State (5-1) scored three runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth, and it would prove to be all they would need to even the series.

UM starter E.J. Encinosa (0-1) suffered the loss, allowing four runs – three earned – on two hits while walking four and striking out six. Lawrence Pardo (1-0), a Miami native, earned the win for ASU, allowing three unearned runs on three hits in six innings of action. Taylor Miller earned his first save of the year, allowing a run over the final two innings.

Freshman Brad Fieger led UMiami at the plate, going 2-for-5 with a run batted in, while junior Harold Martinez went 0-for-3, but finished with a run and a RBI.

Jeremy Dowdy led ASU at the plate, finishing the night 2-for-4 with a homer, two runs scored and three RBI.

With nothing doing through three innings, Appalachian State finally plated the first runs of the night with three runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth to take a 6-0 lead. All three Mountaineers runs in the fourth came across on Hurricanes miscues, as a passed ball, a wild pitch and an error at first opened the scoring.

An inning later, a three-run homer to left by Dowdy pushed the Mountaineers’ lead to six, and gave UM its biggest deficit of the season.

Miami quickly got those three runs back in the bottom of the fifth when the ‘Canes loaded the bases before back-to-back Mountaineers errors cleared them to put UM on the board.

Two innings later, Martinez made it 6-4 with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to left to bring the ‘Canes a little closer.

The Mountaineers’ lead would stay at two until the ninth, when they went up 7-4 on a Tyler Tewell single.

The ‘Canes rallied in the bottom of the ninth, scoring a run on a Fieger single to left, but the last threat ended with runners stranded on first and third.

Sophomore right-hander Eric Whaley (1-0, 4.76 ERA) is slated to start for the ‘Canes on Saturday, while ASU is expected to counter with Seth Grant (1-0, 0.00 ERA).

For ticket information for the 2011 baseball season, call 1-800-GO-CANES or visit Hurricanesports.com.

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