Hurricanes rally to beat Central Florida in extra innings

Four games into his first year as a Miami Hurricane, Vance Sheahan waited for his first signature moment in the green and orange.

His opportunity arrived on Tuesday night, and he capitalized on it. The junior, who transferred from USC Upstate, smashed a 406-foot walk-off home run to push the Hurricanes past Central Florida 8-7.

It was his first homer of the season. He hit 12 home runs and 57 RBIs last year with the Spartans.

The Hurricanes fell into a 5-0 hole through the first six innings. Andrew Williamson hit a two-run home run in the third inning and drove in another run on a single in the fourth after Jordan Lodise hit an RBI double. DeAmez Ross plated in a single in the fifth inning.

The Hurricanes finally found themselves on the board in the eighth inning after Jake Ogden hit a two-run homer. Sheahan getting hit by a pitch led to a run scored in the ninth and Michael Torres tied the game 6-6 with a two-run single.

The Knights scored on a sacrifice fly by Ross in the 10th inning but the Canes kept the game going after a solo home run by Daniel Cuvet.

The Knights again took the lead at the top of the 13th on an RBI single by Javier Crespo. However, the Hurricanes would not be denied. Alberto Alvarez hit a leadoff double to set up Sheahan’s game-winning bomb.

After an opening series in which they scored a total of 57 runs in a clean sweep, Tuesday was the first time this season the Hurricanes faced true adversity and passed the test.

“We were down early but the thing about this team is we keep fighting,” Sheahan said after the game. “We knew we were going to have a big inning at some point. It was just a matter of time. We just got it together and got the win.”

Miami hosts Indiana State on Wednesday and Lafayette for a weekend series starting on Friday.