Your University of Miami Hurricanes baseball team look down and desperate after dropping the first two games of the three game series against their arch rival Florida State. But the Hurricanes came out swinging on Sunday and managed to salvage a win over the Seminoles to avoid the series sweep.
After two games where it seemed that everything that could go wrong for the Canes did it was a completely different script for Miami on Sunday. On the seventh day the Hurricanes got religion, kept the faith and beat the Seminoles 5-1 at the ARP (Alex Rodriguez Park) at MLF (Mark Light Field).
Miami's improved their record to 29-15 overall and 16-7 in the ACC while the loss moved FSU to 33-11 this season and 16-8 in the conference.
Just one day after managing just five hits and being shut out by the stinkin' Seminoles, the Hurricanes busted out the bats early and often . Miami scored two runs in the first inning and another in the second stanza, and after they were staked to the early lead, it was all about Miami's pitchers.
UM starter E.J. Echinosa allowed just three hits while striking out nine Noles in six scoreless innings on the mound. The early support at the plate by the Hurricanes bats was all Echinosa would need as he earned his fourth victory of the 2011 season.
Travis Miller also pitched well for Miami allowing just one run on four hits while striking out five in just over 2 innings of relief work. Sam Robinson, a Miami Killian product, came on to get the final out for his fifth save of the season.
Miami lost the series opener to FSU on Friday in fitting fashion: with an error (wild pitch) that allowed the winning run to score. The 14th-ranked Hurricanes lost to eighth-ranked Seminoles by the score of 6-5 in the opening game of the three-game weekend series at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.
The Canes committed too many errors (7) and simply gave the Noles too many scoring chances in a game that saw several miscues and poor decisions on the diamond.
If it was their poor fielding that cost the Hurricanes the series opener on Friday, on Saturday it was the bats that went silent that cost Miami the second game of the weekend series against the Seminoles. The Hurricanes recorded only five hits and were shut out in a 2-0 loss to Florida State.
Three Seminoles pitchers used their collective efforts to secure the shut-out. The win ensured FSU of the series win over Miami, a series that many fans said would show just where the Hurricanes stood as a team in the very competitive ACC.
The Saturday night soiree saw Miami wasted another quality start by sophomore Eric "Bob Marley And The" Whaley who allowed just two runs on six hits while striking out four in 6 innings of work.
The Hurricanes hard ballers now have a three game set with Hofstra at home this weekend before facing top ranked Virginia in another ACC showdown in Charlottesville the following weekend in another huge three game series that will set the stage for the ACC tournament.
This year the conference tourney, which the Hurricanes won in 2008, will be held in Durham, NC the week of May 25-29. Ironically it was back in 2008 that Miami beat Virginia to claim their first ACC title.
To read more about the 2008 ACC championship click here:
http://hurricanesports.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/recaps/052508aaa.html
