Coral Gables, Fla. – After an hour-and-a-half weather delay, the much-awaited matchup between Miami and Texas got started. The matchup between the two powerhouses was the first since 2003. Both teams combined for 63 bids to the College World Series, the most ever between two schools.
Texas got the better of Miami on this night winning by the count of 4-1 at Mark Light Field. Miami left seven stranded on base on five hits.
This night belonged to Longhorn starting pitcher Lebarron Johnson, Jr. The Jacksonville native looked comfortable on the mound pitching all nine innings (130 pitches). The redshirt sophomore finished the game allowing just one run on seven hits striking out eight.
The Longhorns got on the board first as Dylan Campbell hit a two-run home run on the first pitch he saw from Ligon. It didn’t get any better for the Hurricanes starter in the second inning as Jack O’Dowd hit a solo home run to center field.
In the third inning, Ligon’s wild night continued as he hit batter, Garret Guillemette, in the head. Guillemette was cleared to continue at first but was later removed from the game. Rafe Schlesinger replaced Ligon and Jalin Flores drove in another run with a single up the middle.
Miami found themselves in a 4-0 hole after three innings.
Dominic Pitelli gave the home crowd something to cheer about in the fourth inning as the junior shortstop hit a solo shot to left field, his 12th of the year. He was also stellar defensively per usual throwing several batters out on ground outs.
The bright spot of this game for the Hurricanes was Schlesinger on the mound. The sophomore from Holbrook, NY tossed a career-high in strikeouts with nine. He pitched seven innings allowing four hits with a 3.37 ERA.
Miami will play Louisiana Sunday at noon. The loser will be eliminated from tournament play.
Photo Courtesy of Miami Athletics
Talk with Miami fans on Canes Talk, Inside Canes Hoops, and Canes on the Diamond
• Subscribe to the Canes County YouTube Channel
• Follow us on Twitter: @Canes_County, @BenjaminRivals, @TheCribSouthFLA, @AnthonyYero1, and @MichaelYero
• Follow us on Instagram: @Canes.County
Follow us on Facebook
