The top-ranked matchup that had the state of Florida and the college baseball world on the edge of their seats lived up to the hype Sunday, going down to the wire.
When the dust settled, No. 1 remained just that as the Hurricanes held off a late Seminole rally to win game three, 11-10.
“It was great for us to go up there and get a win,” head coach Jim Morris told The Miami Hurricane after arriving back in Coral Gables. “It was a very tough atmosphere and one of the largest crowds in our history. That made it even more fun.”
On Friday, the Hurricanes’ bats exploded, silencing a record-setting crowd at Dick Howser Stadium. With the Hurricanes (33-4, 17-2 ACC) trailing 4-0 after five innings, Jemile Weeks started a 10-run sixth inning that put the Seminoles away as Miami went on to win, 11-4.
On Saturday, the Seminoles (34-5, 18-3 ACC) returned the favor, scoring nine runs on 14 hits against the Hurricanes’ pitching. The Miami offense could not regain its form from the night before, only scoring five runs on nine hits and striking out 12 times. After scoring five runs through the first four innings, Miami managed just one hit in the final five innings against the FSU bullpen.
On Sunday, both teams came out to determine which team was truly No. 1
Miami’s Yonder Alonso had the answer in the top of the third inning, hitting a grand slam off of FSU starter Elih Villanueva to put the Hurricanes up 4-1. The Hurricanes tacked on another run to send Villanueva to the bench for his shortest outing of the year.
“The last game it was Yonder Alonso,” Morris said. He hit two key home runs, a grand slam, and had five RBIs. It was a great day.”
However, the Seminoles used the sixth inning to approach the Hurricane lead and get momentum back on their side. FSU trailed 11-4 but put they together five runs, capped off by a Buster Posey three-run homer to draw within two.
After a wild pitch in the seventh inning, the Seminoles were able to get within one with a runner on third, but junior closer Carlos Gutierrez was able to strike out the last batter to preserve the win before the game was called after the seventh due to travel curfew restrictions.
The Hurricanes now return home for a seven-game home stand, including a midweek game against Florida International and an in-conference weekend series against No. 16 Virginia.
“Now, we should definitely be No. 1 in all the polls; not just some,” Morris said. “We want to stay near the top.”
Lelan LeDoux also contributed to this article.
Alex Bryant may be contacted at a.bryant4@umiami.edu.
Editor’s note
POSTED APRIL 22 AT 1:37 A.M.
The Miami Hurricane was not aware of the post-game incident at Florida State until after Monday’s newspaper went to print.
For details on what happened, read Post-game confrontation mars Miami/Florida State game.
To see video of the post-game altercation, click here.