Garcia Dominant in First Career Victory
| LINESCORE | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| BU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| UM | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 5 | 5 | 3 |
| PITCHING | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | |||||||
| W – D. Garcia (1-0) | 7.2 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 9 | ||||||
| L – J. Hernandez (1-2) | 1.2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | ||||||
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | R | H | RBI | BB | HR | |||||||
| UM – D. Thompson | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||||||
| BU – J. Cardenas | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||||||
| PLAYER OF THE GAME |
|---|
 Danny Garcia | So. | LHP
Sophomore lefthander Danny Garcia had a dominant start against Barry, tossing a career-long 7.2 innings and striking out a career-high nine batters. The win marked the first of his career. |
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – No. 11 Miami jumped out to an early lead and cruised to a midweek victory Wednesday, toppling visiting Barry 5-3 in the opener of a four-game homestand at Mark Light Field.
Sophomore lefthander Danny Garcia delivered 7.2 strong innings for the Hurricanes (6-3), picking up his first career win in his second start of the season. The Miami native allowed just six hits in the outing, striking out a career-high nine batters while allowing one earned run.
“I was just trying to command all my pitches,” Garcia said of his key to success. “All of my pitches were working. When I got behind in the count, I took a deep breath and just got back at it, pounding the strike zone.”
Miami jumped out to a commanding early lead, plating five runs over the game’s first two innings. An RBI groundout from Zack Collins and an RBI single from David Thompson gave Miami a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first, while a three-run second inning moved the advantage to 5-0.
“We started off real well, and we got complacent and didn’t swing the bat like we should and we need to,” Thompson said. “At the end of the day, we got the win and it feels good…hopefully we can start a streak now.”
Garcia did well to avoid any damage in the opening inning after singles to the first two Buccaneers batters. Garcia managed to pick off both runners, becoming the first Miami pitcher to record two pickoffs in the same inning since Chris Hernandez in 2009.
Freshman Carl Chester was hit by a pitch from Barry starter Jonathan Hernandez to open the game, and sophomore Ricky Eusebio followed with a walk. After a successful double steal advanced both runners into scoring position, Collins grounded out to second to plate Chester. Thompson’s RBI single up the middle scored Eusebio.
The Hurricanes chased Hernandez sooner than an inning later, as RBI doubles from Brandon Lopez and Eusebio moved the Hurricanes lead to 4-0. Righthanded reliever Daniel Broeseker entered and promptly walked Collins to load the bases, and thenissued another walk – this one to Thompson – to force in a run.
Garcia cruised through the middle innings, retiring 11 in a row before allowing a walk to Barry’s JC Cardenas to open the seventh. The Buccaneers would plate a run on a passed ball and an error, cutting Miami’s lead to 5-1.
But Garcia struck out Ross Thibeault for his eighth strikeout of the night.
“I was very pleased with Danny Garcia and the way he threw – that was definitely the highlight of the game…that was big for him,” head coach Jim Morris said.
“It’s a frustrating game, but a win is a win. I thought when our offense scored runs at the beginning, we would score a lot more.”
Despite drawing seven walks from Barry pitching after Hernandez exited the game in the second, Miami was unable to tack onto its early lead.
“Good teams put that game away, especially when you’re up 5-0,” Thompson said. “We didn’t do that today.”
Barry scored runs in the seventh and eighth, including an RBI triple from JC Cardenas that cut Miami’s lead to 5-2 with two outs in the eighth. The hit prompted a pitching change, as Garcia exited to a standing ovation from the crowd of 2,181.
Sophomore Bryan Garcia entered in the ninth and picked up his second save of the season in the victory.
The Hurricanes return to Mark Light Field Friday for its series opener with visiting Wright State. First pitch for the game, slated for broadcast on 560 WQAM, is set for 7 p.m.
