Bargfeldt Dazzles in 5-1 Win Over Wake Forest

HurricaneSports.com
By Camron Ghorbi
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Miami received a brilliant start from junior lefthander Jeb Bargfeldt to even its series with Wake Forest Saturday night, as the Hurricanes captured a 5-1 victory at Mark Light Field.

Bargfeldt went a career-long seven shutout innings and struck out 10 batters in the best performance by a Miami starting pitcher all season.

“Honestly, I had a feel for every pitch tonight, and that started early on in the [pregame] bullpen,” Bargfeldt said. “As the game went on, the confidence grew in each and every pitch…the longer the game went on, the more I had control of everything.”

The Owasso, Okla., native, who transferred to Miami from Cisco Junior College before the season, punctuated his outing by striking out the side in his final inning, departing to a round of applause from the 2,880 fans in attendance.

“He pitched the way he can pitch. He’s a pitcher. He’s not a thrower. He was getting everything over [the plate]. He was in control of the game the entire game and probably could have gone another inning,” head coach Jim Morris said.

For the second consecutive night, the Hurricanes out-hit the Demon Deacons (20-8, 7-4 ACC), who entered the weekend as the top offensive team in the ACC, but were held to just two hits in the series opener.

Miami (12-15, 5-6 ACC) plated a pair of runs in the fourth, including the first career RBI for junior Alex Sanchez, and added three insurance runs in the seventh to set up a rubber match Sunday.

After stranding three runners in the first three innings, the Hurricanes got to Wake Forest starter Donnie Sellers in the fourth, when an error, walk and a bunt single loaded the bases with no outs.

Sanchez drove a pitch to right field deep enough to score junior Carl Chester from third, and a balk from Sellers in the next at bat pushed Miami’s lead to 2-0.

Sellers (3-2) was tagged for two runs on four hits and one walk in five innings.

The way Bargfeldt (2-2) was pitching Saturday, two runs felt like more than enough for the hosts. The lefty scattered three hits and allowed just one runner to reach as far as second base, when Jonathan Pryor doubled to right field to open the sixth.

Bargfeldt avoided any damage in that inning when he got back-to-back strikeouts of Stuart Fairchild and Gavin Sheets, beginning a streak of five straight batters retired via strikeout to end his outing.

“It was huge. As soon as [the double] happened, I thought to myself, ‘Continue to make pitches. Location is going to be my best friend here,'” Bargfeldt said.

The southpaw said that rain showers that arrived in the early innings didn’t affect his gameplan.

“As the game went on, I felt like I had better command and a better feel for everything,” he said.

Miami added three insurance runs in the seventh, with the big hit coming on a two-RBI double from Chester to right-center off Wake Forest reliever John McCarren.

Cheser (2-for-3) and junior James Davison (2-for-3) both had multi-hit performances for the Hurricanes, who out-hit Wake Forest 8-7.

The Demon Deacons scored a run in the eighth on an RBI single from Fairchild off Miami reliever Albert Maury, Jr.

Sophomore Andrew Cabezas, who struck out five batters in two innings of relief Friday, got the final out of the eighth and sophomore Frankie Bartow pitched a scoreless ninth.

The two teams return to Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field Sunday for the series finale. First pitch for the contest, slated for broadcast on ACC Network Extra, 560 WQAM and WVUM 90.5 FM, is set for 1 p.m.

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