All games must come to an end. The marathon 12-inning contest between the University of Miami and Rutgers came in grand fashion as Rony Rodriguez blasted the first pitch he saw over the left-center field fence, and the Hurricanes (2-0) outlasted the Scarlet Knights in a 4-1 pitching duel Saturday.

After two quick strikeouts to start the 12th inning, Dale Carey was hit by a pitch and Peter O’Brien walked. Rodriguez’s blast, his second hit of the night, came on a change-up, a pitch he was sure he would see.

“The guy threw me three change ups and I looked really dumb,” the senior said of his strike out in the 10th inning. “I was looking for the change-up. I put a good bat on the ball and that’s it.”

While several Hurricanes pitchers threw well enough to earn the win, A.J. Salcines picked up the victory. The sophomore southpaw pitched his way out of a tight jam in the 12th inning. Inheriting two runners with no outs, Salcines forced an infield out before walking Michael Zavala. With bases loaded, Salcines struck out the next two batters.

The Rodriguez bomb was not the only home run for the Canes. Miami jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when Dale Carey sent a line drive over the left field wall in the first inning. Carey also doubled in the third inning.

“He’s wiry strong,” Hurricanes coach Jim Morris said of the sophomore. “He’s got potential as a player. The ball jumps off his bat.”

Steven Ewing pitched three tough innings, striking out four without allowing a hit. Ewing is coming off of a strong sophomore campaign where he went 8-2, leading all starters with a 2.66 ERA.

In addition to excelling on the mound, Ewing demonstrated his athletic prowess when he made the defensive play of the game. In a play where Ewing thought he had struck out the batter and the Rutgers batter thought he was awarded with a hit by pitch, the batter began to walk toward first base. The ball made its way to the backstop and Ewing ran it down and fired it to first for the out.

Eric Whaley had a solid outing for the Canes, pitching six complete innings and allowing just two hits and a run while striking out seven. Whaley, who had the best strikeout- to- walk ratio on the team last year, did not walk a batter in his 2012 debut.

“The pitching staff did a good job,” Whaley said. “We gave up one run through 12 innings. Everybody came through clutch and did what they needed to do.”

The Rutgers squad has had trouble hitting Whaley in his three years at Miami. Last season, Whaley pitched his way to a 5-3 victory against the Scarlet Knights and in 2010 he picked up his first collegiate win when he allowed just one hit in two innings of work.

E.J. Encinosa also pitched well, striking out three without allowing a hit in two innings.

The UM offense struggled with men on base. The team stranded 10 base runners, including three in the bottom of the ninth inning.