April 9, 2008

DiNatale's Walk-Off Homer Gives No. 1 Miami 4-2 Win

CORAL GABLES, Fla. - For the second time in the last four games, a walk-off home run propelled No. 1 Miami to a win. Junior left fielder Dave DiNatale sent the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the 11th over the fence in left field as top-ranked Miami walked off with a 4-2 win over Florida Gulf Coast Tuesday night at Mark Light Field. DiNatale finished 2-for-4 and drove in all four runs for the Hurricanes (27-2) who extended their winning streak to 14 games.

Carlos Gutierrez (1-1) picked up his first win of the season, holding the Eagles hitless over the final two innings. David Gutierrez, making his third start of the season, had an effective outing, allowing just two runs on five hits while striking out five in five innings of action before giving way to the Hurricane bullpen. P.J. Fisher had his best outing of the season in relief, allowing no runs on two hits in 2 1/3 innings before Bellamy tossed a scoreless 1 1/3 leading up to Carlos Gutierrez's entrance in the 10th.

BC Storms Back to Defeat Rhode Island, 7-6

KINGSTON, R.I. - Tony Sanchez hit a three-run homer and Ted Ratliff pitched five solid innings of relief to help Boston College overcome an early five run deficit to defeat Rhode Island, 7-6 on Tuesday afternoon.

The Rams scored five runs in the first inning off BC starter Kevin Moran, but only managed one run over the final eight frames against three different Eagles' relievers. Ratliff worked five innings and allowed one earned run on three hits with six strikeouts to earn his first win of the season. Nick Asselin pitched a scoreless eighth, and Michael Belfiore shut the door in the ninth to earn his fourth save of the season.

Sanchez went 2-for-5 with a three-run homer and RBI double. Eric Campbell collected three singles, while Sam Shaughnessy and Belfiore added RBI doubles in the win.

The Rams scored five runs off four hits with two outs in the first inning to take the early 5-0 advantage against the Eagles.

Bumbry's Squeeze Bunt Lifts Hokies to 5-4 Win Over Davidson

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Tied 4-4 with Davidson heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, the Virginia Tech baseball team employed a suicide squeeze bunt to steal a one-run victory in dramatic fashion on Tuesday night at English Field.

After designated hitter Michael Seaborn (Atlanta, Ga.) reached first with a one-out single, redshirt junior Travis Willson (Virginia Beach, Va.) came on to pinch run and raced to third on third baseman Matt Blow's subsequent single. Sophomore Steve Bumbry (Cockeysville, Md.) then came on to pinch hit and dropped down a suicide squeeze bunt as Willson took off for home. Davidson pitcher Mike Frongello made a great play on the ball, but the Wildcat catcher couldn't secure the tag in time and the Hokies spilled out of the dugout to celebrate their 12th win of the season (12-20). Davidson fell to 8-19.

The Hokies spotted Davidson a run on a first-inning RBI-single by shortstop Zach Kayne before starting to build a lead of their own. Junior outfielder Klint Reed (Chesterfield, Va.) produced run-scoring singles in both the first and third innings for Tech, while second baseman Austin Wates (Richmond, Va.) collected an RBI with a first-inning sacrifice fly and Blow (Richmond, Va.) brought home a run with a second-inning ground out.

Wolfpack Drops Hammer On No. 24 UNC Wilmington

RALEIGH, N.C. - The offensive slump is over for NC State. The Wolfpack, which scored 39 runs on 49 hits in sweeping a three-game series from Wake Forest this past weekend, pounded out another 15 hits Tuesday evening at Doak Field at Dail Park and laid a 12-5 defeat on 24th-ranked UNC Wilmington.

The Pack, which has won a season-high seven games in a row, has collected double-figure hit totals in six of the seven games in that winning streak, scoring 75 runs. Since being one-hit by Marshall on March 26, the Wolfpack has batted .378 in eight games, scoring 77 runs and hitting 25 doubles and 12 home runs, and raising its team batting average 31 points, from .270 to .301. NC State hit a season-high seven doubles and added two more home runs Tuesday against the Seahawks, who fell to 23-6-1 on the season. The Pack has hit 18 doubles and seven homers in its last three games.

Dallas Poulk and Ryan Pond formed the Killer P's at the top of the lineup for NC State on Tuesday, collecting six hits between them, scoring three times and driving in four runs. Poulk had a pair of doubles, and Pond doubled and bashed his sixth home run of the season, a majestic blast that cleared the scoreboard in left-center.

Maryland Downs Coppin State, 7-1

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Junior Mike Murphy his third home run in four games and ninth of the season as the University of Maryland baseball team defeated in-state foe Coppin State, 7-1, Tuesday night at Shipley Field. It was the Terps' 10th consecutive out-of-conference win of the season.

The Terps (19-14) were held in check through four innings by Coppin State starter Nick Ericson, but broke through in the bottom of the fifth thanks in part to a pair of Eagles (2-33) defensive miscues.

Dan Benick (Glen Lyon, Pa./Nanticoke) led off with a single and moved to second on a groundout and then third on a passed ball. Shortstop Joe Palumbo (Bowie, Md./DeMatha Catholic) followed with a high fly ball to right-center field, which appeared to be a certain sacrifice fly. However, center fielder Archie Scott collided with right fielder Roman Batista and neither could catch the ball. Benick scored and Palumbo took second on the play.

Second baseman Steve Braun (Granada Hills, Calif./Pierce CC) drove in Palumbo with a single up the middle to make the score 2-0 Terps. The damage, though, was yet to be done. Murphy (Silver Spring, Md./Georgetown Prep) doubled the lead with a two-out, two-run home run to left field. It was Murphy's team-leading ninth homer of the season and his third in the last four games.

No. 24 Virginia Blanks Longwood, 6-0

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The Virginia baseball team snapped a four-game losing streak and posted its second shutout of the season with a 6-0 whitewashing of Longwood Tuesday night at Davenport Field. Freshman Jake Cowan (Roswell, Ga.) threw a career-high 6.1 innings to earn the win, while Matt Packer (So., Germantown, Tenn.) pitched the final 2.2 innings to clinch the save.

Greg Miclat (Jr., Concord, N.C.) notched his third four-hit game of the season as he went 4-for-5 while scoring three of the Cavaliers' runs. He also stole two bases, giving him an ACC-high 22 this season. Freshmen David Coleman (Richmond, Va.) and Jarrett Parker (Stafford, Va.) each had two hits, while David Adams (Jr., Margate, Fla.) drove in three runs.

Cowan (2-0) allowed just five hits and a walk while striking out five. Packer surrendered a walk while fanning four in earning his second save. John Farrell (2-3) took the loss for Longwood after allowing two earned runs, six hits and two walks while striking out two in six innings.

No. 4 Carolina Clipped By Elon, 2-0

CARY, N.C. - No. 4 North Carolina held Elon to just four hits, but the Tar Heels managed only six of their own and left 11 runners on base in a 2-0 loss to the Phoenix Tuesday at Cary's USA Baseball National Training Complex. Carolina (25-7) was shut out for the first time in over a year by three Elon (26-7) pitchers.

Phoenix left-hander Cory Harrilchak (3-2) kept the Tar Heels in check with just five hits allowed over seven shutout innings. He struck out three and walked two before righty Jared Kernodle worked a scoreless eighth. Closer Thomas Girdwood set down all three batters he faced in the ninth to earn his eighth save.

UNC freshman right-hander Patrick Johnson (3-1) allowed only two hits and matched career highs with seven strikeouts and three walks over five innings. After allowing his lone run in the second, Johnson held the Phoenix to just one hit over the final three frames and retired the final nine batters he faced.