Canes' Sloppy Play Gives FSU the Win in Rivalry Opener

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – It’s already a tall task having to face one of the nation’s hottest pitchers in a rivalry game. It’s another when you hand away a season-high seven errors and hope to still have a chance.

The 14th-ranked University of Miami baseball team lost to eighth-ranked Florida State, 6-5, in the opening game of the three-game weekend series Friday night at Alex Rodriguez Park. Miami had its chances but in the end, gave too many to the Seminoles in a game that saw more than its fair share of miscues, errant throws and poor decisions out on the diamond.

The winning run for the Seminoles came across on a wild pitch with two outs in the top of the ninth with the scored knotted at five.

A fitting end to a sloppy game for the Canes.

Tied 5-5 with runners on the corners, reliever Sam Robinson was relieved by Travis Miller in hopes of getting the last out of the ninth. A few pitches in and one got away from Miller, allowing Sherman Johnson to come across to give its last lead.

Separate from that, Miami committed six errors in the first four innings, adding another later in the ninth.
 
The seven UM errors were the most in a game since the Canes committed seven in last season’s Super Regional loss at Florida on June 12, 2010.

After FSU grabbed the late lead, Miami didn’t have much of a chance after it fell behind in the ninth as Daniel Bennett stuck out the side to secure the win.

Bennett (3-1) fanned four and allowed just one hit over the final 1 2/3 innings to earn the win.

Early in the game, FSU ace Sean Gilmartin wasn’t his usual self as the left-hander allowed a season-high four runs (three earned) on six hits and career-high four walks in seven innings. Scott Sitz allowed one run after Gilmartin and before Bennett.

Sam Robinson (1-1) suffered his first career loss in the defeat, allowing the late run that came in on a Miller wild pitch. UM starter Bryan Radziewski didn’t fare too well either, allowing five runs – three earned – on five hits while walking two and striking out three in four innings of work. Javi Salas pitched well in middle relief, holding the Seminoles hitless for three innings.

Nathan Melendres, Dale Carey and Stephen Perez each had two hits for Miami. Carey scored three of UM’s five runs, while Perez drove in three.

FSU was led offensively by Mike McGee (1-for-3, two RBI), Devon Travis (1-for-4, two runs) and James Ramsey (2-for-5, RBI).

With the score tied at two after three innings of play, FSU broke the game open with three runs in the top of the fourth. A UM throwing error allowed the go-ahead run to come across before a two-run double off the bat of McGee put the Noles up by three.

Two innings later, UM cut the FSU lead back to one on a RBI single by Perez followed by a RBI ground-out by Melendres.

The score would stay 5-4 under the bottom of the eighth, when Perez brought home Dale Cary from second on another RBI single.

The game was delayed by lightning twice as storms rolled through South Florida for much of the afternoon and evening hours. First it was an hour and five minute delay before the first pitch, then it was another 18 minute delay in the sixth.

Game two is slated for Saturday at 7 p.m.

Live stats for the game will be provided through Game Tracker at HurricaneSports.com. Fans can also join the live chat, provided by Cover It Live, by visiting HurricaneSports.com as well.

For more information on the University of Miami baseball team, please log on to HurricaneSports.com. To follow the UM Baseball Team via twitter, please navigate to Twitter.com/CanesBaseball. You can also access the official UMiami Baseball blog at TheUBaseball.com.

Fans can keep up-to-date with all UM Athletics via twitter at Twitter.com/HurricaneSports.  You can also become a fan of the Hurricanes on Facebook at Facebook.com/MiamiHurricanes.

University of Miami Postgame Notes:

With the loss, the Hurricanes dropped to…

• 28-14 overall
• 16-7 ACC
• 120-135-4 all-time versus Florida State

Tonight’s Opponent
Florida State came into the game on a seven-game winning streak, including an ACC home sweep of Duke last weekend. The Seminoles scored double-digit runs in five of those seven wins and sit in first place in the Atlantic Division.

The Canes last met the Noles on May 26, 2010 at the ACC Championships in Greensboro, winning 9-3 at NewBridge Bank Park. All three games in the regular season were decided by one run in Tallahassee, with Florida State winning the series two games to one.

Tonight’s Starters
Both managers sent lefties to the mound for the series opener. Bryan Radziewski went four innings giving up three earned runs, while counterpart Sean Gilmartin went seven complete also surrendering three earned runs.

Radziewski recorded seven of his 12 outs via groundouts.

Miami in the Polls
The Hurricanes reached a season-best ranking in the latest polls. Perfect Game USA and Collegiate Baseball had the Canes at 14, with Baseball America ranking Miami 16.

Lightning
The start of tonight’s game was delayed an hour and five minutes due to the presence of lightning in the area. The game was originally scheduled to commence at 7:06 p.m. but did not start until 8:11 p.m. There was also an 18-minute lightning delay in the bottom of the sixth inning that held up the game. These were the first weather delays of the season at Alex Rodriguez Park.

Sloppy Play
The Canes were their own worst enemy on Friday night, committing a season-high seven errors in the loss. The staff also hit three batters and threw two wild pitches, including one that brought in the winning run. Two of the Seminoles’ runs were unearned.
 
The last time Miami made seven errors in a game was on June 12, 2010 when the team lost to Florida in the Super Regionals.

Hits for Harold
First baseman Harold Martinez extended his hitting streak to a team-high 11 games with a single to start the bottom of the third inning.

Keep it Simple
Of the 15 combined hits in the game, only two went for extra bases. Zeke DeVoss and Mike McGee doubled for the Hurricanes and Seminoles, respectively.

Pack the Park
The crowd of 4,291 set a new season-high for attendance at Alex Rodriguez Park. The previous best was 3,908 in an extra inning win against NC State on April 9 when the program honored the 2001 national championship team.

Up Next
Sophomore Eric Whaley (6-2, 3.00 ERA) will look to get the Hurricanes a win on Saturday night in game two of the series, going up against Hunter Scantling (3-0, 2.25 ERA). Game time is set for 7 p.m.

Sacrifice Pays Off
With two sacrifice bunts and a sac fly in the second inning, the Hurricanes posted the most amount of sacrifice hits in an inning since April 30, 2005, when they had three in the first inning against Maryland (one sac bunt, two sac fly).

Can’t Make Mistakes
The Hurricanes seven errors tonight is a season-high.