No. 8 Miami Takes Down Bobcats 11-4

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The eighth-ranked Miami Hurricanes continued their dominance over uptown foe Saint Thomas University on Wednesday night, taking their midweek affair over the visiting Bobcats by a final score of 11-4.

The Canes, who started sophomore lefthander Brad Radziewski, used an impressive combination of pitching and hitting to earn their 21st straight victory over St. Thomas. With their midweek win at Alex Rodriguez Park, the Hurricanes now hold an all-time series advantage of 72-6 over the Bobcats.

Senior catcher Peter O’Brien, who took designated hitter responsibilities on Wednesday in place of his usual catcher’s gear, made the most of his opportunities at the plate. O’Brien (2-for-3, three RBI) crushed a towering shot over the palm trees in left field for his ninth homerun of the year. The two-run shot, which tied him for the Atlantic Coast Conference categorical lead, quickly put the Hurricanes up by a 4-1 margin in the bottom of the third inning.

Radziewski, making his midweek debut, pitched an effective three innings before giving way to the bullpen. The Miami native struck out five batters over his outing, allowing one hit and one unearned run while walking three. Though he was not behind the plate for Radziewski’s start, O’Brien gave his pitching mate a boost in the game’s first inning.

After junior Stephen Perez ripped a double down the rightfield line, O’Brien fisted a single into centerfield that plated the second baseman. Third baseman Brad Fieger’s single advanced O’Brien to third, and the captain would make his way across homeplate for the second run of the inning on a wild pitch from Bobcats starter Michael Arostegui.

After Radziewski enabled a run with a throwing error that sailed past Esteban Tresgallo into right field, the Canes would strike for four more runs in the third inning to give themselves a commanding 6-1 edge. After O’Brien’s two-run shot, Arostegui allowed two more back-to-back baserunners in Tresgallo (walk) and Jarred Mederos (single). Chantz Mack, choosing a good spot to connect on his first double of the year, plated the two freshmen with a key hit that increased the Hurricane advantage to five runs.

From then on, sophomore righthander Javi Salas held the Bobcats offense in check. After allowing two runs in his last time out against Florida Atlantic, Salas bounced back with an impressive performance on Wednesday. The Coral Gables native allowed only three baserunners in his four innings of work, striking out three batters along the way while allowing only two hits and one walk.

The Miami offense collected an impressive 13 hits against St. Thomas, but could not muster many runs after the third inning. The Hurricanes finally plated two more runs in the bottom of the sixth, sparked by the second triple of the year from sophomore centerfielder Dale Carey. After Perez struck out and the Bobcats decided to intentionally walk O’Brien, Fieger made them pay. The sophomore drove in Carey with an RBI single, while O’Brien would score his third run of the night in the next at-bat on a wild pitch.

Though Chris Diaz allowed two runs in the top of the eighth, the Hurricanes fired right back on the first career homerun from sophomore infielder Scott Wiebel. After Rodriguez walked for the second time in the game, Wiebel crushed a pitch over the left-field wall into the net to give the Canes an 11-3 advantage.

With the offensive explosion, Miami secured its 12th victory in the past 14 games before this weekend’s series against the Clemson Tigers. All three games will be broadcast by ESPN affiliates: ESPN3 on Friday (6:30 p.m.), ESPNU (4:00 p.m.) on Saturday, and ESPN3 on Sunday (12 p.m.).

GAME NOTES

Stretch It Out
Stephen Perez extended his hitting streak to a season-high seven games with a 3-for-4 performance against the Bobcats on Wednesday night. Perez, who has seen his average steadily rise to an impressive .274, also scored two runs.

Bouncing Back
Javi Salas struck out three batters and allowed only two hits in his four-inning stint against St. Thomas. Salas, who was charged with two runs in his last outing at Florida Atlantic University, controlled the plate well, allowing only one walk.