Thompson's Big Night Clinches Series Over GT
| LINESCORE | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| GT | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| UM | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | X | 22 | 21 | 2 |
| PITCHING | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | |||||||
| W – A. Suarez (7-1) | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||||||
| L – B. Parr (5-4) | 1.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ||||||
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | R | H | RBI | BB | HR | |||||||
| UM – D. Thompson | 6 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 3 | ||||||
| UM – B. Lopez | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||||||
| PLAYER OF THE GAME |
|---|
 David Thompson | Jr. | 3B
The junior third baseman had a night for the ages, connecting for three home runs, including a grand slam, and nine RBI to power Miami to a 22-1 romp of the Yellow Jackets. |
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Junior David Thompson strengthened his case for ACC Player of the Year Friday night at Mark Light Field, connecting for three home runs and nine RBI in a 22-1 thumping of Georgia Tech.
The three-homer game was the first for a Hurricane since June 2010 (Scott Lawson), while the nine RBI were the most since Chad Rupp had nine in April 1993.
Thompson now leads the nation with 77 RBI and leads the ACC with 18 home runs.
Thompson connected on two-run home runs in the first and fifth innings and added a grand slam in the eighth, bringing his ACC-leading total to a whopping 18 – the most for a Hurricane since Harold Martinez hit 21 in 2010.
“I’m on cloud nine right now,” Thompson said after the game. “It was a lot of fun out there. It’s fun to come up to bat with guys on base like that, everytime I was up to bat today. I was putting some good swings on the ball.”
The grand slam was his third of the season.
“I think I swung at better pitches tonight than yesterday, that’s why I was so successful,” said Thompson, who went 0-for-3 Thursday. “I was taking strikes that weren’t my pitch, and swinging at balls that I could hit well.”
Just one night after Thomas Woodrey’s complete-game performance guided the Hurricanes to their 10th straight victory, Thompson and the offense stole the show.
Miami outhit the Yellow Jackets 21-4, and the Hurricanes (41-13, 21-8 ACC) captured their ninth home series victory in the last 10 tries.
The victory extended Miami’s season-long winning streak to 11 games in front of 2,499 at Mark Light Field.
Miami, who mustered just five hits in a 3-0 series-opening win Thursday, scored four runs in the first and six more in the third, jumping out to an early 11-0 lead and chasing lefthander Ben Parr (5-4) after just one inning.
Not to be overshadowed on Senior Day, lefthander Andrew Suarez (7-1) tossed 6.0 strong innings for the Hurricanes.
“It was a wild one to watch, but it was great,” head coach Jim Morris said. “Suarez threw very well, and of course David Thompson was the show tonight with three home runs. We had a lot of guys swing the bat well.”
Suarez allowed just one unearned run, striking out six batters and walking none in the 71-pitch outing.
“Georgia Tech is always a good-hitting team, so I knew I had to pitch well,” Suarez said. “I’m glad that my offense came back to hit.”
Suarez said the opportunity to spend time with his parents and fellow seniors on the field before the final regular-season start of his career was exciting.
“I felt good the whole night, with my parents on the field,” Suarez said. “I’m glad I pitched well.”
All six seniors saw action, with four relievers combining to pitch the final three innings in relief of Suarez: Daniel Briggi (0.2 IP), Daniel Sayles (0.1), Ryan Otero (1.0) and Sam Abrams (1.0).
Miami scored seven runs in the seventh to bolster a 14-1 lead to 20 runs.
11 different players recorded at least one hit, with six Hurricanes recording multi-hit performances.
“Our offense has been hitting the ball real well and scoring a lot of runs,” Thompson said. “We’re getting hot at the right time.”
Miami returns to Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field Saturday for its regular season finale with Georgia Tech. First pitch for the game, slated for broadcast on ESPN3, 560 WQAM and WVUM 90.5 FM, is set for 1 p.m.
