Columbia
Miami
Baseball Falls to No. 6 Miami in Coral Gables Regional
5/30/2015 11:17:00 PM | Baseball
BOX SCORE (.html) | BOX SCORE (.pdf)
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – No. 6 Miami scored four times in the second inning and held off a pair of Columbia homers as they took an 8-3 decision in the NCAA Coral Gables Baseball Regional Saturday.
The Lions (32-16) will play FIU at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 31, for the right to play in the regional final on ESPN3.
The Hurricanes filled the base paths with no outs in the top of the second and Brandon Lopez doubled to left to bring in a pair of runs. Jacob Heyward, brother of St. Louis Cardinal outfielder Jason Hewyard, recorded an opposite field single to right to extend the advantage to 3-0. The fourth run of the frame came in on a fielder's choice with the bases loaded. With runners on the corners, starting pitcher Kevin Roy induced an inning-ending double play to prevent further damage.
Gus Craig answered in the bottom of the inning with a towering leadoff homer, his ninth of the year, to cut the deficit to 4-1.
Walks plagued the Lions again in the top of the fourth, three free passes filled the base paths which led to a Zack Collins single to push the margin to five. With two on and two outs, reliever Mike Weisman forced a fly out to the national leader in RBI, David Thompson, to get out of the jam.
Columbia matched the two-spot Miami put up in the bottom of the inning. A two out walk to Craig set the stage for David Vandercook, who cleared the wall in right for his fourth career long ball in NCAA Regional play.
With two outs and a man on first in the top of the sixth, George Iskenderian roped a double that Robb Paller chased down in left. The Lions' relay to the plate came just up the line enough for Chris Barr to slide in safely and restore the four-run cushion, 7-3.
Miami added a run in the eighth for the final 8-3 margin.
Paller extended on-base streak to 33 games with a two-out, two-strike base hit in the eighth. The Lions did not have a baserunner in scoring position until Paller advanced to second on a wild pitch
Craig and Vandercook led the Lions with Craig going 2-2 with a walk, two runs scored and two RBI and Vandercook going 2-4 with two RBI.
Miami totaled eight runs on 12 hits, while Columbia scored three on nine hits.
Roy picked up the loss (6-4) going 3.2 innings and giving up six runs on five hits, while Thomas Woodrey (7-2) earned the win for Miami, pitching 5.3 and giving up three runs on six hits.
Columbia is the only team that has gone yard through two days of the Coral Gables Regional.
