The hitting drought in Miami officially ended after Saturday night’s powerful offensive storm.
And it had nothing to do with the brief downpour rain in Coral Gables, Fla.
After a night that only produced three runs in 11 innings, the top-seeded Hurricanes rebounded with a 14-10 win to force a decisive Game 3 on Sunday night. The winner advances to Omaha, Neb., for the College World Series.
Two of Miami’s four home runs not only broke open a deadlock score, but also provided the Hurricanes with enough momentum to survive the Wildcats’ own offensive explosion.
First baseman Yonder Alonso blasted a three-run shot to left field as part of a six-run Hurricane fourth inning to break a 4-4 tie game. Alonso finished 3-for-4 with 3 RBI.
Throughout the fourth inning meltdown, UA starter David Coulon frequently fell behind hitters, throwing first pitch strikes to only eight of the 25 batters faced.
Arizona pitchers walked a total of 16 hitters.
Ranked sixth in the nation in both slugging percentage and home runs, Miami reached the Wildcats’ bullpen after Coulon’s 89th pitch.
Coulon lasted 3 1/3 innings after allowing seven runs on six hits and five walks.
To conclude the bottom half of the fourth inning, UA second baseman Colt Sedbrook singled up the middle to center field, scoring short stop Bryce Ortega to tie the game up 7-7.
The fourth inning lasted 54 minutes from a combined nine runs between the ‘Cats and ‘Canes.
But as long as the Wildcats could hang around, Miami did enough work offensively to stay ahead. Mark Sobolewski’s solo homer on the first pitch of the sixth inning broke a 7-7 tie. Later on in the inning, teammate Yasmani Grandal extended Miami’s lead with a three-run home run of his own.
Miami tacked on two additional insurance runs in the ninth inning before UA relief pitcher Cory Burns struck out Blake Tekotte with the bases loaded.
UA outfielder Jon Gaston provided another bizarre twist to tonight’s slugfest in the eighth inning: he silenced a silent crowd.
In response to Gaston’s “”quiet sign”” gesture after hitting the game-winning home run on Friday night, the Miami crowd jeered a “”shhh”” noise during his plate appearance tonight in the seventh inning.
Gaston’s reply? His second home run of the series to right field sparked a brief new life into the Wildcats chances at closing out the series.
Gaston finished 2-for-4 with 3 RBI.
UA first baseman C.J. Ziegler blasted a two-run home run to left field, lifting Arizona to an early 4-0 lead. Ziegler’s 20th home run makes him the fourth Wildcat in history to reach that plateau.
On Deck:
Game 3: Miami vs. Arizona, 4 p.m., ESPN2. Winner advances to NCAA College World Series to face winner of Georgia-NC State.