No. 19 Miami Baseball Sinks Bucs for Eighth Straight Win

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – No. 19 Miami came away with its eighth straight win on Wednesday, defeating cross-county opponent Barry University by a score of 10-5 inside Alex Rodriguez Park. The Canes exploded for 16 hits – including three home runs – which is a season-high for Miami at home.

Miami (22-11) was led offensively by center fielder Nathan Melendres who was 2-3 with two RBI; sophomore Zeke DeVoss (3-for-5) with three runs scored; and freshman outfielder Dale Carey who was 2-for-2 with a RBI.

Carey extended his hit streak to a career-high seven games after his two hits tonight.

The Canes scored in the bottom of the first inning off a double from Melendres, driving in outfielder Chantz Mack. The run was immediately followed by a solo home run from first baseman Rony Rodriguez, who homered after Melendres was caught attempting to steal third.

The home run was Rodriguez’s team-leading fifth of the season.

Miami tacked on four more runs on five hits in the second inning.

The first run came off an RBI single from Carey, scoring the designated hitter Chris Pelaez – who was 2-for-2 on the night at the plate. Starting catcher David Villasuso drove in the following two runs on his first round-tripper of the campaign, which he blasted well over the scoreboard in left center field.

The onslaught continued when DeVoss, who reached base on a single, scored on Melendres’ second RBI in as many innings.

The Canes continued their impressive hitting in the fourth inning courtesy of Harold Martinez who hit a three run homer – his second of the year.

Sophomore shortstop Stephen Perez returned from injury tonight in the fifth inning, marking his first appearance in a game since March 23 against Florida Gulf Coast University. Perez finished the game 0-for-1 at the plate.

The Barry Buccaneers (27-11) scored their first run of the game in the fifth inning off a RBI double by left fielder Lyndon Coleman, who drove in catcher Chris Leon, and advanced Manny Pedrozo to third.

UMiami sophomore starting pitcher Steven Ewing had another quality weekday start, earning the win in six innings of work. Ewing scattered five hits – giving up only one earned run – while striking out seven. He is now tied for the team lead in wins with five (5-1).

Freshman relief pitcher Javi Salas made his 11th appearance of the season out of the Canes bullpen when he replaced Ewing in the top of the seventh. After pitching one scoreless inning, Salas was replaced by freshman AJ Salcines who delivered a scoreless inning of his own.

Barry made a late comeback attempt in the top of the ninth inning, plating five runs on four hits against freshman reliever Adam Sargent. Pedrozo led the charge for the Buccaneers with a one-out, two-run homer down the left field line.

The Canes brought in freshman Sam Abrams with two outs in the ninth to finish off the game.  Abrams fanned the final batter of the game to finalize the win, giving UM its sixth straight nonconference victory.

Bucs starting pitcher Jordan Wellander took the loss for Barry, allowing six earned runs on 10 hits in just three innings pitched. Pedrozo led the Buccaneers on offense tonight with two hits, including one home run and two RBI.

The Hurricanes will look to improve on their 11-3 conference record when they travel to College Park, Md., this weekend for a three-game set against University of Maryland (15-17, 3-12 Atlantic Coast Conference).

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 `Canes on Facebook at Facebook.com/MiamiHurricanes.

University of Miami Postgame Notes:

With the win, the Hurricanes improved to…

• 22-11 overall
• 16-6 at Alex Rodriguez Park
• 20-0 all-time versus Barry
• 14-6 in night games
• 7-0 in April
• 15-2 when scoring first
• 9-1 when hitting a home run
• 9-2 when wearing “M” hats

Going Deep, Again and Again
With two home runs in the first two innings, the Canes recorded their third multiple home run game of the year. Rony Rodriguez connected on his team-leading fifth of the campaign, while Harold Martinez collected his second.

Starting catcher David Villasuso also hit his first home run of the year with a shot over the scoreboard in left field in the fourth inning.

Perez Returns
Stephen Perez came into the game in the top of the fifth, his first appearance since March 23 against Florida Gulf Coast.

Hitting Streaks
Chantz Mack extended his hitting streak to seven games, the longest streak of his career. Chris Pelaez also continued his hitting streak with his second multi-hit game of the year, as the streak reached a career-high six games.

Hit Parade
Tonight’s 16 hits are the second most this season by the Hurricanes. The Canes had 26 hits against Boston College en route to scoring 19 runs on April 3 in Chestnut Hill, Mass.