No. 22 Miami Rallies to Even Series with No. 6 Florida
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Cardiac Canes.
The 22nd-ranked Miami Hurricanes baseball team stormed back from a five-run deficit to win, 14-6, and even the series with the sixth-ranked Florida Gators Saturday evening.
The Hurricanes (8-3) trailed the Gators (9-3) by a score of 6-1 at the end of the fifth inning, but the visitors from Coral Gables made their presence felt.
“I’m proud of them,” Miami head coach Gino DiMare said. “The guys stayed with it. They kept battling. At the end of the day, there are 27 outs. We got to their starter a little bit at the end and got to their bullpen in a big way.”
Miami scored 13 unanswered runs over the final four frames, silencing the 7,853 fans at Condron Family Ballpark.
Rookie Blake Cyr smashed two homers and plated seven tallies for the Hurricanes, finishing one RBI shy of Miami’s freshman single-game record set by Randy Guerra in 1976.
“He’s growing up fast in this atmosphere,” DiMare said. “His eyes were open pretty wide last night, so it was good to see him have a big night for us.”
Cyr cranked a two-run blast in the sixth to pull the Hurricanes within three, before singling in the seventh to cut the deficit to one.
With Miami batting around, the Windermere, Fla., native came around to score the game-tying run on a wild pitch.
Following sophomore Renzo Gonzalez’s go-ahead solo shot in the eighth, Cyr doubled the lead with a bases-loaded walk, his fourth RBI of the night.
Cyr capped off the offensive outburst with a three-run jack in the ninth, throwing up The U as he circled the bases in celebration.
“A lot of emotions were running through my mind,” Cyr said. “We’ve been doing this all year. We’re a team when we get punched in the mouth we come right back and keep going.”
The freshman designated hitter was one of six Miami players to finish with multiple hits, as the Hurricanes outhit Florida, 16-7.
Left-handed pitcher Chris Scinta earned his first collegiate victory after keeping the Gators off the board in the seventh.
Scinta entered with the bases juiced and induced a double play, cutting down a runner at the plate, before generating a ground out to alleviate the threat.
Miami right-hander Andrew Walters tossed the final two innings, striking out four of the seven batters he faced to secure the win.
Florida reliever Fisher Jameson (0-3) picked up the loss, as the Gators used five different arms in relief of starter Hurston Waldrep. Jameson surrendered three runs on three hits and only notched one out in the seventh.
With the series tied, the Hurricanes and Gators will meet Sunday in a winner-take-all rubber game. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. at Condron Family Ballpark.
“This is a business trip,” Gonzalez said. “It’s a rivalry. This is one of the reasons why you come to Miami. We’re coming back tomorrow and we’re going to win the series.”
To keep up with the University of Miami baseball team on social media, follow @CanesBaseball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
