Miami baseball offense underachieves in sweep by Florida
The offense for the Miami baseball team scored eight runs in 30 innings of action as the top-ranked Hurricanes were swept in a three-game series by Florida in Coral Gables this weekend.
Florida survived extra innings on Friday and Saturday to outlast, outplay and outwit the Miami baseball team to capture victories. Each of the losses for the Hurricanes over the weekend was heartbreaking. Pitchers for both programs owned the three-game weekend series. The starting pitching was elite.
Miami was unable to capitalize on a second straight dominant performance by Brian VanBelle in the series opener. Van Belle pitched seven innings, allowing four hits, one run, unearned, with a walk and nine strikeouts. Florida scored an unearned run in the fifth. That was answered by a Raymond Gil sacrifice fly in the sixth.
A Jacob Young 11th inning double played Austin Langworthy to put Florida ahead 2-1 in the top of the tenth off Miami closer Daniel Federman. Miami had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the 10th taken away after an interference call was made on Tony Jenkins attempting to sacrifice JP Gates to third.
Miami Hurricanes
Gates had to return to first after initially advancing to third base. Tyler Paige popped out and Jordan Lala grounded out to end the threat. Miami went quietly in the 11th after Anthony Vilar had a leadoff walk. Ben Specht got the win and Nick Pogue the save in relief for Florida. It was the first loss of 2020 for Miami.
Miami got within one strike of tying the series on Saturday night. Florida scored on Federman for the second straight night. Leadoff hitter Jud Fabian doubled home first baseman Kris Armstrong on a 1-2 pitch with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie the game at two. Florida scored five in the top of the 10th.
Miami mounted a rally, but the Hurricanes two runs were not enough as Florida clinched the series with a 7-4 victory in ten innings. The Hurricanes offense sputtered for the second straight night. Another dominant starting pitching performance from Miami was unable to lead to victory.
Junior Chris McMahon pitched six innings, allowing one earned run, two walks, nine strikeouts with three wild pitches. An Alex Toral opposite-field home run put Miami on the board first in game two. Gil came through with a clutch hit for the second straight night with a seventh-inning RBI single to put Miami up 2-1.
The Hurricanes bullpen collapsed in the tenth. A leadoff home run by third baseman Kirby McMullen put the Gators in front. McMullen rounded the bases and brazenly pointed at Miami freshmen pitcher Anthony McFarlane. That caused a warning on both teams from the Homeplate umpire.
The Gators tacked on four more runs to give themselves enough of a cushion to win 7-4. Florida continued the offensive onslaught early on Sunday. Two in the first and one in the second in the series finale put Florida in front to stay. Miami scored one in the fourth and two in the eighth on a Gil homerun.
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Slade Cecconi took the loss for Miami, lasting just five innings. The Hurricanes will try to regroup when they host South Florida on Wednesday and Towson for a three-game series next weekend. Freshmen McFarlane or Carson Palmquist who was impressive in three scoreless innings on Sunday is the likely Wednesday starter.