Top-Ranked Virginia Evens Series with No. 16 Miami

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Top-ranked Virginia evened the series with 16th-ranked Miami on Saturday afternoon, holding the Hurricanes to just two hits in a 3-2 decision, thwarting a late comeback attempt from the Canes at Davenport Field.

Miami (32-17, 17-8 Atlantic Coast Conference) was impressive a night ago against the league’s top pitcher, scoring five runs in the opening inning. On Saturday, the Hurricanes struggled to produce anything offensively through the first eight innings as they were limited to just a single hit through the first eight frames – that being a double from catcher Shane Rowland in the sixth.

With Virginia (44-6, 21-5 ACC) leading Miami 3-0 in the top of the ninth, the Canes mounted a comeback attempt from the top of its order, forcing the Cavaliers to go deep into the bullpen for top closer Branden Kline.

A leadoff walk to Zeke DeVoss – later advancing to second on a passed ball, followed by a walk to left fielder Rony Rodriguez allowed the tying run to dig in with one out. Harold Martinez lined a RBI single through the right side to plate DeVoss, and freshman Brad Fieger registered a sac fly to the bullpen in right field in back-to-back at-bats. The sacrifice fly from Fieger cut into the lead, 3-2, as Rodriguez scurried in from third.

UMiami was unable to get anything else off closer Branden Kline as he got Dale Carey to ground out in the next at-bat to end the game.

With Virginia leading 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth, the second error of the day at second base by DeVoss with one out allowed UVa center fielder Kenny Swab to reach safely – later advancing to third on a hit-and-run. The Cavs plated the all-important second run with two away, using the bat of Keith Werman – hitting at the bottom of the order – to place a RBI single to right that scored Swab, and put the homestanding Wahoos out to a 2-0 advantage.

The decisive blow came in the bottom of the seventh as designated hitter Danny Hultzen drove in John Hicks from second on the strength of a double to right field for the 3-0 Cavaliers lead.

With a true pitcher’s duel brewing early, an error by DeVoss in the third turned costly one batter later.

A sharply hit grounder by John Barr was booted by DeVoss, allowing him to reach safely with two outs. Barr stole second on the ensuing at-bat, before the Cavs’ Hicks drove him in with a RBI single shot back up the middle to give his team a 1-0 lead.

UVa threatened again in the home-half of the fifth with back-to-back bunt singles to kickoff the at-bat. The bases would become loaded on UM starter Eric Whaley with one out after he hit the batter, but the Pompano Beach native got Hicks and Steven Proscia to fly out consecutively in order to end the inning with no runs allowed.

Cavaliers’ starter right-hander Tyler Wilson had a no-hitter going through 5 2/3 innings until UM catcher Shane Rowland doubled to the right center wall to break it up. Wilson would get DeVoss to ground out – one second baseman to another – on the next at-bat.

Wilson left the game after 7 2/3 innings tossed, allowing just a single hit, walking a batter and striking out a career-high matching 11 Hurricanes in the win. He stayed perfect on the year with the victory, upping his mark to 6-0 on the season. The save for Kline was his 16th of the season as he came on in relief of fellow reliever Kyle Crockett who walked the only batter he faced in the eighth.

In the loss, Eric Whaley had an impressive outing for the Hurricanes, pitching six innings and allowing two unearned runs on four hits, two walks and striking out five. The loss moved Whaley to 7-4 on the year. Two of the four hits allowed by Whaley were bunt singles in consecutive at-bats in the fifth.

Miami and Virginia will meet on Sunday back at Davenport Field for the rubber game of the series beginning at 11 a.m. The game will be streamed live at VirginiaSports.com. You can also listen to the broadcast via the internet at WVUM.org, the student voice of the University of Miami. Eric Hahn and Ernesto Suarez will have the call on WVUM 90.5 FM.

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 Baseball Postgame Notes:

With the loss, the #16 Hurricanes fall to…

• 32-17 on the season
• 17-8 in the Atlantic Coast Conference
• 10-8 in games played on the road
• 11-14 when the opponent scores first
• 1-13 when trailing after eight innings
• 19-13 all-time against Virginia

Tonight’s Starters
Rony Rodriguez started in left field for the second consecutive game, and senior Chris Pelaez suited up as the designated hitter for the Hurricanes.

Errors Will Cost “U”
Miami committed three errors on the day – all three of them grounders along the infield. Two of the errors hit to Zeke DeVoss eventually led to eventual Virginia runs, as both would have resulted in outs with a throw to first base.

Whaley Shows His Stuff in Tough Decision
Sophomore right-hander Eric Whaley took the loss for the Hurricanes, but he pitched well in the outing. The Pompano Beach, Florida native tossed six innings, allowing just two unearned runs on four hits scattered and striking out five batters.

K-Ball, K-Ball
Eric Whaley’s five strikeouts on the day brought his total for the year to 72. He is now tied atop the UMiami roster with sophomore Steven Ewing for the most strikeouts on the team.

Martinez Starts to Streak Again
Harold Martinez’s RBI single in the ninth inning pushed his hitting streak to a team-leading five games. He has now registered a hit in 17 of his last 18 games.