Miami baseball wins two out of three from top-ranked Florida

The Miami baseball team won two out of three in a competitive weekend series with Florida. All three-games featured late comeback attempts. Miami scored four runs in the ninth inning of the season opener against the Gators on Friday night but fell short in a 7-5 loss in the first game at the new Florida Ballpark.

Miami scored one in the seventh, one in the eighth and three in the ninth of the second game of the series on Saturday afternoon rally from an 8-3 deficit after six innings to tie the game. The Hurricanes scored two in the top of the 13th and after allowing one run in the bottom of the frame won 10-9.

After getting out to an 8-0 lead after three and a half innings on Sunday, the Miami baseball team held on for an 8-6 victory and the series win over the top-ranked Gators. Freshman infielder Yohandy Morales led the Hurricanes going 3-5 with two runs scored and an RBI on Sunday.

Freshman starting pitcher Victor Mederos went 4.1 innings allowing two runs, one earned on seven hits with one walk to allow Miami to amass the big lead. The last four Hurricanes pitchers did not allow a run while getting the final nine outs. Carson Palmquist pitched a perfect ninth inning to record his first save.

Morales and transfer outfielder Christian DelCastillo, the brother of Miami catcher Adrian, were the stars for Miami on Friday night. Morales went 2-4 with two runs scored. Del Castillo was 2-3 with a run scored and three RBIs. Florida starter Tommy Mace Mace pitched five innings allowing one run, five hits and striking out eight.

Franco Aleman pitched the final two outs for Florida on Friday night to get the save. It appeared that Florida was on their way to clinching the series on Saturday with five runs in the first inning. Miami chipped away throughout the game before the five unanswered runs to force extra innings.

Tony Jenkins went 3-6 with three RBIs in the victory for Miami on Saturday. Palmquist was the pitching star for the Hurricanes on Saturday. The lanky lefthander pitched three innings, allowing one hit, one walk and striking out four of the 10 batters he faced to keep Miami level with Florida in the extra frames.

Ben Wanger pitched the final two innings for the victory on Saturday. The number 21 Miami baseball team should move up in the rankings after winning two out of three from top-ranked Florida this weekend. Miami is off until Friday when they begin ACC play hosting Virginia Tech.