Miami Drops Homestand Finale to FIU
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Hurricanes fell behind in the middle innings and could not recover Wednesday, dropping a midweek affair to visiting FIU, 14-6, at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.
Juniors Romy Gonzalez and Danny Reyes connected on back-to-back home runs in the defeat, but it wasn’t enough for the Hurricanes in the crosstown affair.
Gonzalez led the Hurricanes offensively, finishing 4-for-4 on the night with three doubles.
With the game scoreless after four innings, the Panthers (19-21) broke the deadlock with a three-run fifth to take the lead.
Making his third straight midweek start, freshman righthander Chris McMahon tossed 5.1 innings in the loss. He allowed five runs (four earned) with two walks and four strikeouts over his 103-pitch outing.
McMahon (1-1), who tossed eight dominant innings last week in a win over FGCU, was charged with the first loss of his career.
FIU tacked onto its lead in a six-run sixth, with the big hit coming on a three-run home run from Eddie Silva off senior lefthander Michael Mediavilla that pushed the Panthers’ lead to 9-0.
Trailing in the sixth, the Hurricanes (17-23) cut into the deficit with a bases-clearing double from redshirt freshman Michael Amditis.
Junior Romy Gonzalez opened the inning with a double and FIU reliever Jose Machado then hit freshman Tony Jenkins and issued a walk to freshman Dylan Cloonan.
Amditis came through on the scoring opportunity, cracking a 1-2 pitch from Machado (2-0) just inside the left field line to score all runs, trimming the deficit to 9-3.
Gonzalez lifted the first pitch he saw in the seventh for his team-leading fourth homer of the year. Five pitches later, Reyes connected on his second home run in as many games when he tagged a pitch from Greyson Fletcher over the fence in center field.
FIU tacked on four insurance runs in the eighth inning.
The Hurricanes travel to Florida State for their annual rivalry series beginning Friday, April 27 at Dick Howser Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla. First pitch for Friday’s series opener, slated for broadcast on ACC Network Extra and WVUM 90.5 FM, is set for 6 p.m.
