Canes Fall in Pitchers' Duel, 1-0
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Freshman righthander Daniel Federman delivered a brilliant performance, but FGCU came up with an eighth-inning, pinch-hit RBI single to capture a midweek game, 1-0, Wednesday night.
Federman was dominant in eight innings for the Hurricanes, tossing his second straight quality start in a pitchers’ duel at Swanson Stadium.
The fiery freshman did not allow a hit until a two-out ground ball single in the fifth. He struck out a career-high seven batters and worked his way through an Eagles lineup – one hitting .322 entering Wednesday – with ease.
FGCU’s Evan Lumbert was up to the task. The junior righthander struck out a career high 12 batters across eight shutout innings of his own.
A pinch-hit single from FGCU’s Eli Lovell scored Alex Brait and proved the difference in the eighth. Brait reached on a single and, after an errant pick-off attempt, scored on a single from Lovell through the right side of the Miami infield.
Miami put the go-ahead run on base in the ninth, but FGCU closer Kenton Hering closed the door for his fourth save in front of 1,982 fans.
Miami (12-12) recorded the first hit of the game on a third-inning single from freshman Willy Escala.
The Hurricanes’ first scoring opportunity came in the sixth, when Escala looped a shallow single to left and freshman Raymond Gil drew a walk.
After a sacrifice bunt from Freddy Zamora moved both runners into scoring position, Lumbert buckled own to strike out freshman Dylan Cloonan and induce a groundout from senior Hunter Tackett to keep the game scoreless in front of
Escala finished 2-for-3, extending his hitting streak to five games and recording his sixth multi-hit performance.
The Eagles (19-5) saw their first scoring chance came in the sixth, when Marc Coffers reached on a single that the right side of the Miami infield lost in the lights. Coffers stole second to become the first FGCU runner to reach scoring position, but Federman induced a lineout to center to end the threat.
Lumbert (4-0) impressed over his 108-pitch outing. He surrendered just two hits and one walk in the victory.
Federman (1-2) needed just 93 pitches and allowed one unearned run. He lowered his ERA to 1.51 with the performance.
The Hurricanes next travel to Atlanta for a weekend series with host Georgia Tech at Russ Chandler Stadium beginning Friday, March 30. First pitch for the opener, slated for broadcast on ACC Network Extra and WVUM 90.5 FM, is set for 6 p.m.
