A pattern continues to take place during midweek games at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.
After losing to Rhode Island and Ohio State on Tuesdays, seventh-ranked Miami once again fell behind early, made a crucial error and had a starter struggle on the mound Wednesday night.
Luckily for these young Hurricanes (21-7), they continue to come back. Despite Barry (21-4) taking a 5-0 lead into the second and then tying the score at 10 in the seventh, head coach Jim Morris and company persevered with a 15-10 victory.
It was UM’s 14th come-from-behind win of the season.
“It’s happened a lot, but credit to our hitters. I thought they did a great job tonight of continuing to pound and do whatever they had to do to score runs,” Morris said.
Junior Jason Hagerty continued his hot hitting by going 2 for 3 with four RBIs. He blasted a solo shot in the fourth and collected a bases-clearing double in a five-run seventh.
“I feel real good. I’m just trying to slow the game down a little bit and see the ball more,” Hagerty said. “Things are falling into place now and it’s a good time for me towards the second half of the season.”
Senior Jonathan Weislow and sophomore Yasmani Grandal also homered for the Canes. As a team, Miami walked nine times.
“I was trying to be more aggressive last year and I was getting myself out and that was definitely something that I took into this season,” said Hagerty, who walked twice. “If I’m hitting in the four [slot] or in the middle of the lineup, I’ve got to wait for the pitch that I can drive.”
On a down note, freshman Harold Martinez committed his 15th error in the first, which allowed the Buccaneers to score four runs when starter Jason Santana served up a grand slam with two outs to Manny Pedrozo.
Reliever Daniel Miranda (2-2) picked up the win in 2/3 innings of work. Brian Santana (0-1), the younger brother of Jason, suffered the loss as one of eight Barry pitchers.
Youth was once again put on display during the first when freshman Ted Blackman missed a sign and was caught stealing with Miami already down 4-0. Morris replaced him with senior Dave DiNatale to send a message to his young players.
DiNatale finished the game 2 for 4 with three RBIs, including the game winning two-run ground-rule double.
“It’s great to come in and contribute for the team,” he said. “I like hitting when the game’s on the line and I just got a good pitch to hit and I was able to take it opposite field.”
This weekend, Miami hosts No. 23 Florida State (17-8).
“There’s always something that seems crazy that happens in this series,” Morris said. “That series has been one of the biggest series in the country for the last 30 years so it’s always an exciting series. It’ll be a sell-out, it’ll be fun, it’s on national TV and everything you can ask for.”