Gators Continue To Dominate Canes

It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but as of now it’s fact; Florida owns Miami on the diamond.

After two straight years ended with heartbreaking, season-ending regional losses in Gainesville, the Canes (supposedly) had the Gators right where they wanted them.

Home series at A-Rod Park, two freaks-come-out-at-night 7pm ET showdowns, with both teams undefeated and looking to make the most of their first real challenge early in the 2012 season.

Florida passed with flying colors, sweeping the Canes at home, in dramatic fashion. In the other dugout, Miami now has to lick its wounds and return to the drawing board as some serious holes were exposed this weekend.

Like so many times before, Game One seemed to set the tone for the rest of the series. Miami trailed 2-0 entering the bottom of the third, but responded with a two-run home run from former Gator, Tyler Palmer, tying the game 2-2 entering the fourth.

As always, Florida stormed back, scoring one in the fourth and one in the six, sandwiching a three-run fifth that gave the Gators a 7-2 cushion.

The Canes scrapped and picked up three in the sixth, but that ended the scoring for both teams. Florida picked up the 7-5 win and Miami pitcher Eric Erickson earned his first loss of the season, allowing a season-high nine hits and six earned runs.

The bullpen delivered late, with four solid innings and only six hits and one run in that span, but the Miami bats remained silent down the stretch. Hurricane pitchers gave up fifteen hits, while Gator pitchers gave up eleven.

Saturday night proved to be a pounding, despite a 3-0 Miami lead entering the top of the fourth. Catcher Peter O’Brien crushed a two-run shot over the centerfield fence in the bottom of the first and the Canes looked ready to go toe-to-toe with an intrastate rival. O’Brien drove home another in the third, when a single to center scored Julian Santos.

Then came the top of the fourth and the Florida surge. Three in the fourth, five in the fifth, two in the sixth and one in each of the next three innings en route to a 13-5 ass-beating in front of 4,999 and the tenth-largest crowd in UM’s history.

Junior Eric Whaley got the loss, giving up ten hits and eight runs in 4.1 innings of work. The bullpen was equally as flat, allowing another five runs.

Bryan Radziewski took the mound for Sunday’s 1pm start and after Florida’s one-run second, Miami responded with three immediately. Brad Fieger opened with a single and advanced to third when Esteban Tresgallo doubled to center. Chantz Mack grounded out but moved Tresgallo to third and scored Feiger.

Steven Perez laid down a sacrifice bunt to bring home Tresgallo and a batter later Julian Santos tripled to right. Jarred Mederos singled up the middle, scoring Santos before Palmer struck out to end the inning.

Up 3-1 in the top of the third, the teams remained scoreless until trading runs in the fifth. After a scoreless sixth, the Canes and Gators each picked up another run in the seventh before another scoreless eight.

Up 5-3 Miami needed three outs in order to earn and win and to walk away winners for the first time in eleven tries against Florida. Instead, an abysmal performance and a five-run explosion for the Gators.

E.J. Encinosa set the tone walking leadoff batter Nolan Fontana. Next, Encinosa hit Daniel Pigott and advanced Fontana to second. Preston Tucker grounded out to second, advancing both runners and from there, clean-up man Mike Zunino doubled to center, cleared the bases and tied the game. He later advanced to third on a wild pitch.

After working it to a full count, Encinosa hit Taylor Gushue, putting runners at first and third. Gushue then advanced to second while Zunino scored on another wild pitch and from there, Encinosa walked Austin Maddox before finally getting pulled for Christian Diaz and giving up four. Encinosa was credited with five earned runs as Diaz took over with runners at first and second.

Diaz wound up loading the bases and added insult to injury when walking in a final run. He was pulled for Adam Sargent, who gave up a single and RBI. With an our forced at home, Sargent went on to strike out Fontana for the inning’s final out. Still, the damage was done. The Gators batted through their entire line-up, scored five, stole momentum and made the Canes pay dearly for some boneheaded mistakes.

Miami tried to rally. Carey grounded out, O’Brien walked and Feiger singled through the left side, advancing O’Brien to second and putting the tying run at the plate. Tresgallo pushed the count to 3-2 before flying out and a batter later, Mack made the least of his chance, going down swinging on a 1-2 count.

In the end, swept at home and eleven straight losses to the Florida Gators. UF solidified its stranglehold on the No. 1 ranking while the Canes will surely slide from the No. 8 slot the rode into this weekend’s showdown.

Jim Morris and staff have some work to do. The bats seemed to go silent at the most inopportune times, while the pitching was downright atrocious. With a two-run lead entering the top of the ninth at home, there is absolutely no logical scenario for a five-run inning.

A lot of baseball remains this season and after a Tuesday exhibition with the Miami Marlins, the Canes take on Miami (OH) on Wednesday before welcoming Boston College south for a three-game series next weekend. Illinois State and Central Florida on the docket next week and then a weekend road trip to Duke.

Some winnable games – on paper – before a late March / early April road trip to Clemson. There’s time to clean things up, though the sting of this loss and the Florida sweep will provide a hangover tough to shake, for fans and players alike.

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13 thoughts on “Gators Continue To Dominate Canes

  1. Clarify the atrocious pitching. B-Rad held them to three runs two of which should have been outs. The fly ball which was missed played by left feild and the dropped ball at home.

    1. Agreed, but again, as a whole, the team didn’t get the job done. Mistakes across the board. Sloppy play. That may have been the case with B-Rad, but what about EJ’s tank-job?

  2. Jim Morris is past his “Sell By” date. He is no longer able to recruit or motivate this baseball team, which has fallen WAY behind both UF and FSU in recent years. It is time for a change and a good young coach to rebuild this program. Just hope we can find that person because Morris should be given his pink slip. In fact, he should have been gone two years ago.

    1. Maybe. Maybe not. 3 brought back Gino DiMare this year, so let’s see how the 2012 season pans out. If it’s another regional collapse when the team could’ve and should’ve done more, coaching needs to be addressed as no head coach is untouchable. This is definitely a do or die year, but we can’t throw in the towel after one series. A lot of baseball left to be played.

  3. Idk what to say about these losses. It’s tough. I’ve played with and against some of the players in high school that are on the UM squad and I personally feel that some of them don’t belong there and their stats clearly show it and their appearances reveal their true colors. They just don’t respond in big games and important situations. There are some solid ball players on this club but the Gators honestly, man for man, have a lot more better players. I hate to say it cuz I hate the damn Gators but they are much better than the Canes. What do you think is the reason for the losing streak against the Gators? In my opinion, its not work ethic, its not coaching, its lack of talent although don’t get me wrong, there is talent on the team but no where near compared to the Gators.

    1. Watching the regionals last year, it was obviously that Florida knew they could beat Miami – and did – while the Canes seemed to clench up, choking away opportunities, mentally fading and giving away games to the Gators, which was again the case this past Sunday.

      You’re right, for some reason this team hasn’t responded in the big game and with everything on the line. Hopefully that changes as the year progresses. Pitchers need to pitch better, defense needs to tighten up and bats need to stop going cold.

      As for not being comparable to the Gators, Miami entered this weekend’s series ranked No. 8 and Florida was No. 1. The drop off shouldn’t be that tremendous and Miami really needed to take at least one game this weekend – and flat out gave one away.

  4. Isn’t lack of talent a recruiting issue, and isn’t recruiting a management issue. Looks like Jim has got to go. The season is young. Bring in a new guy now and maybe the season can be saved. Why wait for a replay of the last 2 years.

    0-3 at home is UNACCEPTABLE anytime, any opponent.

    1. Agree that losing three this weekend to Florida was unacceptable … but disagree with a coaching change a few weeks in. Morris just made some off-season changes (re: bringing back Gino DiMare) and those changes deserve some time to jell.

      Plus, if you are going to replace a legend with almost two decades of experience, a slew of trips to Omaha and two rings, you need to choose carefully. Who are you really going to bring in now? All the good guys currently have jobs.

      If 2012 proves to be a failure on the diamond, you then conduct and extensive search for a new coach and work tirelessly to find the right guy. You don’t have a knee-jerk firing followed by a knee-jerk hiring.

      1. Get the guy from virginia. He,s good (very good) and probably underpaid, and it,s 23 above up here this am.

        Pay him 3.5 million.

        Why wait for another year, and have a replay of the Coker and Shannon situations.

        Every coach has their day. Jim has had his day.

        Ken roberts

        1. Ken – All sounds good in theory, always. Same way football fans were clamoring for Gary Patterson or Chris Petersen, with the assumption that those guys would gladly leave their respective posts. Why would UVA’s Brian O’Connor leave his post for Miami? Virginia is a quality job and O’Connor has eight years there. Prior to that, a stint at Notre Dame. He went to college at Creighton and is a Nebraska native. Does a guy like that want to leave Virginia for the pace of live in Coral Gables?

          O’Connor has brought the Cavs to the College World Series two of the past three years, as well as the Super Regional. He’s building something good in Charlottesville and appears to be happy.

          Obviously worth talking to, but not during the season. He’s busy with his program and has no plans of going anywhere now, just as Jim Morris is doing his job coaching up the Canes.

          Morris more than deserves this year to turn things around. Come June, should Miami underachieve again, then you think about starting the process of looking for a new guy — which is bigger and more tedious than just throwing money at the current flavor of the year.

  5. Overall the Canes have a good team with potential.. I agree it is early yet. Their strength will be the pitching…Their downfall will be the defense if they don’t get their head on straight..Hopefully the freshman Mederos may be able to pick up the defensive slack from our jr players….. As far as Sunday’s game, I thought we had it… then hell broke loose.. What I can’t figure out was why it took SO long to relieve Encinosa? How many pitching changes did Florida make for a win?

  6. Too many mental errors and lack of concentration. They definitely need a sports psychologist to work with them. I am a retired gymnastics coach, and I can tell you it’s not always the best athletes who win, but those who can perform under pressure and keep their mind sharp. Baseball players, being
    superstitious by nature, need constant mental conditioning. That’s what has enabled UF to have so many come-from-behind wins.
    UF also retains more seniors. The only seniors the U retains are mediocre players.
    I disagree with the way Morris lets a pitcher get way in over his head before pulling him. Had he pulled Whaley sooner, we could have won that game. It’s
    inexcusable to let a pitcher give up 8 runs before pulling him. By then, the damage is done, and not easily reversed.

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