June 6, 2008
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) - Jon Gaston hit a three-run home run in the top of the 11th as No. 12 Arizona defeated No. 1 Miami 6-3 in the opening game of their Super Regional Friday night.
Gaston, a seventh-round draft choice by the Houston Astros earlier Friday, drove Miami reliever Carlos Gutierrez's 1-1 pitch over the fence in right field for his 12th home run of the season.
Gutierrez (5-3) struck out the first two hitters in the 11th but hit Colt Sedbrook on an 0-2 pitch. Brad Glenn followed with a single before Gaston's game-winning shot.
Jason Stoffel (4-2) pitched three scoreless innings and struck out five for the win.
Game two of the best of three series will be Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. and televised on ESPN.
Miami's Yasmani Grandal led off the ninth with a double to deep centerfield against reliever Ryan Perry. Stoffel replaced Perry and struck out Blake Tekotte. After Stoffel hit Jemile Weeks, Yonder Alonso hit a drive to deep right center but the Wildcats' T.J. Steele ran down Alonso's shot and threw out pinch runner Jonathan Weislow, who rounded third.
Steele's two-out RBI single off Miami reliever Kyle Bellamy in the top of the seventh tied it 3-3. Hurricanes' starter Chris Hernandez retired 14 consecutive hitters until Brad Glenn led off the inning with an infield single and advanced to second and third on two wild pitches.
Bellamy relieved Hernandez after the freshman left-hander struck out Gaston for the first out of the inning. Hernandez allowed three runs, three hits and struck out six.
Dennis Raben's opposite field two-run home run in the fourth put the Hurricanes ahead 3-2. Raben's shot just cleared the fence in left field for his 10th homer of the season.
The Hurricanes had an opportunity at expanding the lead in the fifth with runners at first and third with one out but reliever Ryan Perry replaced starter Preston Guilmet and struck out Jemile Weeks and Mark Sobolewski around an intentional walk to Yonder Alonso.
Miami stranded eight runners in scoring position and nine for the game.
Guilmet allowed three runs and three hits and struck out three.
The Widcats struck first on Steele's two-run home run in the second. Steele drove Hernandez's pitch over the leftfield for his 11th home run of the season.
Miami reduced the deficit 2-1 on Tekotte's RBI groundout in the third which scored Adan Severino who had doubled.
