April 4, 2008

CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Junior first baseman Yonder Alonso belted a walk-off two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth as No. 2 Miami defeated Clemson, 6-4, Friday night to extend its winning streak to 11 games and take game one of the Atlantic Coast Conference series in front of another capacity crowd of 3,000 at Mark Light Field. The win made it the best start ever by a Miami coached Jim Morris team as UM improved to 24-2 and 10-1 in the ACC.

Alonso's only hit of the night came with one out after a Ryan Jackson single. He sent a towering blast over the right field fence for his sixth homer of the season. Jackson led Miami going 2-for-5 with the game-winning run. Junior center Blake Tekotte finished 1-for-4 with a three-run home run. But it was the Hurricanes' pitching that kept them in the game.

Freshman lefty Chris Hernandez and sophomore right-hander Kyle Bellamy combined for 16 strikeouts, which was a season-high by the UM pitching staff. Hernandez struck out a career-high 11 batters in earning the no decision for the Hurricanes. He gave up four runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings. Bellamy (4-0) won for the second straight Friday night in relief as he did not allow a hit and struck out five in 2 1/3 relief innings.

Clemson starter D.J. Mitchell matched Hernandez as he tossed six innings and held Miami to four runs on seven hits while striking out six. Alex Martin, Justin Sarratt and Matt Vaughn combined to toss the final 2 1/3 innings for the Tigers (18-11, 6-7 ACC). First baseman Ben Paulsen and Wilson Boyd each went 2-for-4 for the Tigers.

After Bellamy recorded a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the ninth, the Hurricanes headed to the bottom of the ninth with the top of their lineup coming to the plate. After Tekotte grounded out, Jackson singled to left field setting the stage for Alonso to be the hero. He unleashed a towering blast on a 2-1 count into the parking garage behind right field to keep the Hurricanes' winning streak in tact.

Clemson tied the game, 4-4, on Paulsen's leadoff home run in the top of the sixth inning.

Tekotte gave the Hurricanes a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the second on a three-run home run to right center. The Hurricanes had drawn within, 2-1, on Ryan Perry's RBI single through the left side that scored Dave DiNatale. Tekotte followed with his third homer of the season.

The Tigers jumped out of the gate with two runs in the top of the first. Paulsen doubled in his first run to put Clemson ahead, 1-0. Kyle Parker's groundout scored the Tigers' second run.

The Hurricanes and Tigers continue their series Saturday night at 7 p.m. at Mark Light Field. Senior RHP Enrique Garcia (1-0, 5.24 ERA) will face Clemson RHP Graham Stoneburner (4-0, 2.31 ERA). Saturday night is UM employee night at "The Light." It's also dollar popcorn night.

Game Notes

-Miami played its 2,100^th game at its home field including regular season, postseason and neutral site games.

- Freshman lefty Chris Hernandez's 11 strikeouts were the most by a Hurricane since Scott Maine struck out 12 against Wright State on May 4, 2007 in eight innings.

- Miami had a capacity crowd of 3,000 for the seventh time this season.

- The Hurricanes ran its winning streak to 11 games now. The streak started with a 20-9 win over Cornell back on Mar. 18. It's the longest streak that Miami has had since the Hurricanes rattled off 16 straight wins during the 2006 season.

- Junior center fielder Blake Tekotte extended his hitting streak to 13 games while sophomore third baseman Mark Sobolewski upped his hitting streak to nine games.

- Miami's 24-2 start is now tied for the second best start in school history. The best start in school history belongs to the 1981 UM team which started off 39-3.

- The Hurricanes wore black jerseys for the first time ever at home Friday. It was only the second time UM has ever worn black. Miami wore black jerseys against Clemson in the first game of the 2007 ACC Tournament.