Thompson, Miami Get Past FIU

By David Furones

Special to CollegeBaseballInsider.com

 

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – There wasn’t the on-field brawl like in the 2006 football meeting between the crosstown rivals at the old Orange Bowl.

 

Instead, the only fight came in two forms – some early pounding Miami gave Florida International, the school less than nine miles west that Miami fans call their “little brother,” and then the Panthers pushing back to hold their own and show they had a little bit of fight in them, too.

 

With six runs in the first two innings and a masterful performance by senior left-hander Andrew Suarez, top-seeded Miami won its opener in the Coral Gables Regional and first meeting with No. 4-seed FIU since 2008 6-2 in front of a sellout crowd of 4,816 on Friday night at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.

 

The Hurricanes (45-14), who now have won 15 of their last 16, advance to face the Regional’s No. 3 seed Columbia, which defeated East Carolina 6-3 earlier Friday. FIU (29-30) gets a date with ECU in an elimination game Saturday afternoon.

 

“The win is big tonight, but the win tomorrow night is even bigger because then it puts you into the championship game,” Miami coach Jim Morris said. “We have to come out tomorrow with a great effort against Columbia, that’s very excited to be where they’re at.”

 

Miami slugger David Thompson, the nation’s leader in RBI, drove three home on a 3-for-4 night. He had a two-run double in UM’s four-run first inning and an RBI single in the second.

 

“We hit well with runners in scoring position,” said Thompson, who upped his nation-leading RBI total to 83. “We need to do a better job of hitting throughout the game, but it’s always nice to get off to a good start like we did today.”

 

Suarez (8-1), the second-round pick in last year’s draft who was the highest player selected to return to college baseball this season, went seven-plus innings, striking out five with two runs against him for baserunners he left on that eventually scored.

 

“Suarez for Miami did an excellent job tonight,” FIU coach Turtle Thomas said. “I would say he’s the best left-hander that we’ve seen all year, and he pitched very well.”

 

Suarez said his fastball, changeup and slider were all working for him.

 

“I had command for all of them, and I just kept the ball low,” Suarez said. “They’re a very aggressive team, and I just threw strikes.”

 

Suarez was shutting out FIU through seven but allowed the first two runners in the eighth to reach, and he was pulled by Morris.

 

Cooper Hammond closed the door on the Panthers by working out of Suarez’s trouble in the eighth and then striking out the side in the ninth.

 

Before Thompson’s two-run double in the first, Miami scored its first run on FIU shortstop Julius Gaines’ second error of the opening frame when he airmailed a throw to the plate trying to gun down Ricky Eusebio.

 

“From my standpoint, it was little things like not getting a good grip on the ball and not getting on top of it,” Gaines said. “On my behalf, errors that I shouldn’t have made. I hold myself to a high standard on the field. I take full responsibility for it.”

 

FIU freshman starter Andres Nunez wasn’t helped in the second either as an error by first baseman Edwin Rios – the Panthers’ third on the night – allowed one of two more runs score.

 

“I think our guys were a bit tentative, a little bit nervous to begin with,” Thomas said. “As I’ve told them, you can lose a baseball game in the first inning … One of our goals today was to try to start fast, pitching and hitting-wise. It just so happened that we didn’t do that.”

 

The game appeared like it could get out of hand in a hurry early, but FIU’s pitching didn’t allow a Miami run after the second.

 

Nunez (6-6) showed plenty of resolve after getting roughed up in the first two innings but ultimately took the loss. He didn’t allow a run after allowing six (five earned) in the first two innings and surrendered six hits over 119 pitches in 6.1 innings while striking out four and walking four.

 

Reliever Charles Cormier pitched 1.2 frames behind him and retired all five Hurricanes he faced, striking out two.

 

The Panthers scored a pair of runs in the eighth when Zack Soria and Gaines drove in runs on groundouts in the infield. Rios, who ranks third in the nation with 18 home runs went 2 for 4. Eddie Silva went 2 for 2 with a walk.

 

Game Notes

·    Jim Morris spoke postgame on Miami’s sellout crowd, its first since 2012: “Great crowd. We closed the gates. I don’t remember the last time we closed the gates. It’s great coming out of the dugout looking down both lines with people standing. It’s just a great feeling.” … Added Thompson, a junior, “It hasn’t been that loud once since I’ve been here.”

·    Twenty-nine players who played their high school ball in South Florida’s Miami-Dade or Broward County are on the two teams’ rosters – 15 for Miami, 14 for FIU.

·    Morris announced Thomas Woodrey, his usual Friday night starter, will start for the Canes in Saturday night’s meeting with Columbia

·    Thomas took some positives from the loss: “I thought our pitchers and our defense did a great job after the first two innings. Nunez could’ve fallen apart but he regrouped.”