The Hurricanes took Game 1 of a 2-game series vs the Maine Black Bears 4-3 at the Light.

Things got going for Miami in the bottom of the second, when Romy Gonzalez hit a nice double to left. Hunter Tackett then drove him in with an RBI single, and Miami held an early 1-0 lead.

Then in the bottom of the third, Johnny Ruiz reached base for his 10th straight game with a single, and Carl Chester followed Ruiz with a walk. Romy Gonzalez then came to the plate and hit a monster three-run homerun to give Miami a 4-0 lead.

Unfortunately the top of the fourth started badly for Evan Mckendry, as two consecutive walks left him trying to limit damage. Fortunately Mckendry was able to limit Maine to just one run, and after the top of the fourth it was 4-1 in favor of Miami.

In the top of the fifth Maine once again made the game a little closer, as a solo homerun with two outs made the game 4-2 in favor of the Hurricanes.

In the top of the seventh a leadoff walk gave Maine a baserunner, and a sac-bunt pushed the runner over to second. Mckendry then allowed a RBI single that made the game 4-3, but Miami still held the lead.

In the top of the eighth Jim Morris tried to let Albert Maury into the game to get rid of the thoughts of his last appearance. Maury struggled badly however, and his appearance was cut short after he allowed two consecutive singles. Coach Morris then brought in Andrew Cabezas to try to hold the lead, and things got even worse when he allowed a bunt single to load the bases with no outs. Then Cabezas settled in and put on a clinic on how to get out of a tough situation. First he managed to strikeout the first batter he faced with good pitch placement, and then caught the runner at third base in a rundown after a failed bunt attempt. It should be noted that on this rundown, after getting the runner trying to come home, Joe Gomez tried to throw out the Maine runner going from second to third, and Romy Gonzalez managed to reach up and catch a very high throw, which prevented a run from scoring. After that the next batter was retired, and Miami escaped without allowing a run.

In the top of the ninth Cabezas closed out the game for his first save, and Miami won 4-3.

It was nice to see the bats continue to stay hot after the great series offensively this past weekend, and hopefully that continues into tomorrow and next weekend.

Game Stats:

Winning Pitcher: Evan McKendry (2-0, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 7.0 IP)

Losing Pitcher: Trevor Delaite (0-1, 3 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 3 K, 6.1 IP)

Save: Andrew Cabezas (1)

Box Score:

Next Game:

Tomorrow, March 15, 6:00 P.M Eastern, vs Maine

Hurricanes Starter: Greg Veliz (0-1)

Radio: WVUM 90.5

Television: ACC Network Extra