Hurricanes Unable to Complete Sweep of Hofstra

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – No. 14 Miami was unable to get any offense going on Sunday afternoon, as the Canes dropped the series finale, 5-0, to Hofstra at Alex Rodriguez Park. The Hurricanes fell to 31-16, while the Pride improved to 12-29.

The Canes secured the series victory with wins on Friday and Saturday nights, scoring 25 runs against Hofstra pitching. However, Miami was unable to keep the momentum going on Sunday, as the Pride was able to salvage the last game of the series.

Hofstra got on the board in the top of the second inning against Miami starter E.J. Encinosa with doubles from Jared Hammer and Joe Perez to take an early 1-0 lead. The Pride tacked on another run in the fifth inning on an infield single by Hammer, scoring Logan Davis who had reached on an error to start the inning.

After a two-out Matt Reistetter RBI single to center field in the seventh, Hofstra put the game away in the eighth with a two-run homer off the bat of Perez that ricocheted off the video board in left field.

Encinosa (4-4) took the loss for the Canes, going 6 1/3 innings – surrendering four hits, two earned runs and two walks, while striking-out three hitters.

David D’Errico (5-5) earned the win for the Pride, tossing six scoreless innings.

The save went to Jeff Guthridge, tossing the final three frames, never allowing a hit while walking two and striking out one.

Harold Martinez and Brad Fieger each recorded two hits to lead the Canes who were shutout for the third time this season. Nathan Melendres also reached base three times, with two walks and a single. Miami never sent more than five hitters to the plate in an inning all afternoon.

The Hurricanes will return to ACC play next weekend, traveling to Charlottesville, Va., to take on No. 1 Virginia in a three-game series.

Live stats for the series 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 Baseball Postgame Notes:

With the loss, the #14 Hurricanes are now…

• 31-16 on the season
• 15-9 in out of conference games
• 21-9 at Alex Rodriguez Park this season
• 10-13 when the opponent scores first
• 2-1 All-time against Hofstra

Tonight’s Starters
Miami has used the same starting lineup in all three games of the series this weekend.

Melendres Stays Hot
With a ground ball single up the middle in the fourth inning, junior outfielder Nathan Melendres now has an eight-game hitting streak. 

Bats Go Quiet
After scoring 25 runs in the first two games of the season, the Canes were shutout on Sunday. It was the second time in as many weekends, but only the third time of the season, Miami has been held scoreless.

Double Dipping
Both Brad Fieger and Harold Martinez had two hits apiece, pushing both their season averages to above .300 – at .302 and .301, respectively.