The Hurricanes lost Game 3 of the series vs the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 17-6 on Sunday.

This result came about because of disastrous performances both pitching and fielding wise.

The game started out badly from the beginning, when Juwuan Harris, the bane of Miami’s existence for the entire series, roped a double and then stole third. Soon after Mike Carter hit a RBI double and the Scarlet Knights took an early 1-0 lead.

In the bottom half of the first inning some life was shown by the Hurricanes, when Michael Burns was HBP and took first base, and Johnny Ruiz took a walk, the Hurricanes quickly had two men on and only one out. The rally did nothing however, when Romy Gonzalez hit a line-drive straight at the Rutgers CF, and then Ruiz was thrown out at second on a steal attempt.

Nothing but a few singles happened until the top of the fourth, when it all went wrong for the Hurricanes, Michael Mediavilla struck out Rutgers’ leadoff man to start the inning, only to have starting catcher Michael Amditis drop the third strike and make a wild throw to first. After the leadoff man found a way on base, Mediavilla walked the next two Rutgers batters and faced the bases loaded with only one out. Luke Bowerbank put the ball in play on a comebacker to Mediavilla, who couldn’t field it and everybody was safe, Rutgers lead 2-0 and the bases were still loaded. Then Gaby Rosa hit a single to Michael Burns in right field that Burns struggled to field, and then the bases were cleared when after Burns struggled to field the ball, he threw it into left field. The Scarlet Knights then lead 5-0. Rosa took third on a steal and yet another error by the Hurricanes allowed him to score, and before it was all set and done, Rutgers led 6-0 and Mediavilla was out of the game.

The Hurricanes responded in the bottom of the inning after Michelangeli was HBP and Chris Barr took a walk. With two men on base Michael Amditis came to bat and he hit an RBI single to left to drive in Miami’s first run. James Davison then drew another walk and the bases were loaded for Carl Chester, who hit a single into left that scored two. At the end of the fourth the score was 6-3 Rutgers.

Things didn’t get better in the top of the 5th for the Hurricanes though, as Chris Folinusz hit a two run homer to put Rutgers up 8-3. Then Gaby Rosa had his third RBI of the day when he knocked in Luke Bowerbank, putting Rutgers up 9-3.

In the bottom half of the frame the Canes’ put together yet another rally, with Romy Gonzalez hitting a one out double followed up by two back-to-back walks, loading the bases. Amditis then hit two runs in with a double to left, afterward James Davison hit another run in with an RBI single. At the end of the inning the Canes were down 9-6, but there was hope.

Rutgers scored again in the top of the sixth when a double followed by a single made the score 10-6, but Rutgers wasn’t done. An RBI groundout scored yet another run and made the score 11-6 Rutgers at the end of the sixth.

In the top of the 7th Rutgers scored yet again, the bases were loaded when Mike Carter drove in two more runs for Rutgers, then a hit-and-run play plated yet another run. By the time the damage was done the score was 14-6, and almost all hope was lost for a Miami comeback.

In the top of the 9th Mike Carter doubled and drove in his fourth on the day, and then he was driven in for yet another Rutgers run. This was all capped off with a Rutgers RBI single to make the score 17-6 Rutgers heading into the bottom of the 9th. Joe Neglia made quick work of the Canes and the game ended in a 17-6 victory for the Scarlet Knights.

Ultimately the Canes’ were brought down by atrocious defense, 6 ERRORS, five of which were in the fourth, and a struggling pitching staff. Hopefully this doesn’t become a trend, because if we play like this we will not win many games this season.

Game Stats

Winning Pitcher: Eric Reardon (1-0, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 IP)

Losing Pitcher: Michael Mediavilla (0-1, 4 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 L, 3.1 IP)

Save: None

Next Game:

Wednesday, February 22, 7:00 P.M Eastern, @ FIU

Starting Pitcher: Not announced.

Radio: WVUM 90.5

Television: None