Fernandez knocked in two of Gators' three runs on a fourth-inning double in the 3-2 Florida victory, The Sun-Sentinel wrote.
"Every senior on this team has been waiting for this," Fernandez told The Sun-Sentinel of breaking the team losing streak. "We've talked about it. It should have happened earlier, it should have happened last year. But we'll take it now."
Fernandez had something else happen a couple months later that he likely waited for. He turned pro with the Cardinals. But, after playing six seasons as a pro, his wait to make the majors never paid off.
Fernandez' pro career began that year in 1987, taken by the Cardinals in the 26th round of the draft out of Florida.
At Florida, he won all-SEC honors in 1987, winning conference player of the week honors in March 1986. He turned in a .704 slugging percentage, a .377 batting average and hit 16 home runs in 1987, according to the school's media guide.
Fernandez started with the Cardinals at single-A Savannah. He hit .271 over 63 games.
He then moved to single-A St. Petersburg for 1988 and 1989. He got into 45 games in 1988 and then 107 in 1989. He hit .282, with seven home runs and 50 RBI in 1989.
Fernandez made AA Arkansas in 1990, hitting .269 over the season. He walked and scored on a triple in an April game. He knocked in two on single and hit a home run in a July game.
He played 1991 at AAA Louisville, hitting .237 over 104 games. He returned to Louisville for 20 more games in 1992, marking the extent of his time in the Cardinals organization.
Fernandez is credited as playing one more season in Mexico for Saltillo, ending his career.
- South Florida Sun-Sentinel, April 22, 1987: Parks Settles Score With 'Canes, Lifts Gators 3-2
Players/Coaches Featured: 2,607
Made the Majors:1,023-39.2%
Never Made Majors:1,584-60.8%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 424
10+ Seasons in the Minors:261
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