Canes Baseball on Track for Stretch Run

It was a good week for Hurricane Baseball.

Going into last weekend’s series in Derby Town against the #19 Louisville Cardinals, Miami was #16 in the NCAA D1 rankings. After taking two of three on the road Miami has jumped to #11 in the D1 poll.

ACC teams play 10 three game series each season. The Canes have won 6 of 8 series so far, 4 of 4 at home and 2 of 4 on the road.

Miami now 28-16 (14-10 ACC) only trails Wake Forest 16-4 and Duke 14-9 in ACC play.

In the opener against the Cardinals, 1B CJ Kayfus led off the game with a dinger to give Miami a 1-0 lead. Louisville evened the score on a sac fly in the bottom of the second.

The Canes caught a break in the top half of the fifth when a costly throwing error by Louisville catcher Jack Payton after a swinging strikeout by Carlos Perez allowed Ian Farrow and Dominic Pitelli to score and Perez to make it all the way to third. Kayfus followed with an RBI single and Miami was up 4-1.

Louisville got one back with an RBI single in the bottom of the frame and it was 4-2 after five.

Zach Levenson doubled home Yohandy Morales in the sixth extending the lead to 5-2 but the Cardinals responded with three runs of their own on a walk, a single, an RBI single and a two RBI doubles that knocked Miami starter Gage Ziehl out of the game after 5 1/3.

Senior Carlos Lequerica came on and put out the fire and it was 5-5 after six.

It was still tied at five with two on and two out in the top of the eighth when Sophomore Gaby Gutierrez was called on to pinch hit and he delivered with a single to left driving home Edgardo Villegas for a 6-5 Miami lead.

Lequerica (3-0) went 2.0 innings and earned the win as he and Alejandro Torres held Louisville scoreless.

Andrew Walters was handed the ball in the ninth and earned his seventh save.

Louisville tied the series with an 11-0 win the following evening.

Alejandro Rosario had another tough start giving up 10 hits and 6 runs in five innings.

Not much more to say about the loss except it brought up the first, “Most Important Game of the Season” the following day. No doubt there will be more most important games, but the series decider certainly was one. Miami is extremely short handed in starting pitching. Alejandro Torres, who got the last two outs of the eighth inning in the Canes series opener win was the starter. Torres and Ben Chestnutt, who came in relief after 1 and a 1/3 combined to give up 6 runs on 7 hits over the first four innings.

Miami did some offensive damage themselves. A homer by Perez , a 2 RBI double by Blake Cyr in the third, a 2 RBI single by Kayfus and a sac fly that brought him home showed Miami’s fight. It was 6-6 after four. Lequerica came on to get the last out of the frame.

Kayfus gave Miami a 7-6 lead in the sixth with an RBI single. Lequerica (4-0) faced 11 batters and got 10 outs over 3 and a 1/3. Andrew Walters went the last two.

Miami had extended their lead to 10-6 in the eighth on Dorian Gonzalez and Pitelli RBI hits.

Louisville closed to 10-7 in the eighth but could get no closer.

YoYo Morales was 4-5 for the night and had his career 200th hit. Morales became the first player to reach 200 hits at Miami since Chicago White Sox catcher Zach Collins hit the mark in 2016.

One might ask, how important was the most important game? Fair question. Louisville came into the series #19 nationally and came out unranked. Miami came in #16 and are now #11.

A non-conference weekend series against Presbyterian starts Friday, May 5th. The Canes travel to Pitt for games on May 12th-14th and finish the regular season at home against Duke, May 18th-20th.

Hopefully Karson Ligon, a mainstay of the starting rotation is back and healthy very soon.

FOOTBALL NEWS-

Florida City native and South Dade HS standout DJ Ivey was one of three UM players taken in the NFL draft last weekend.

Ivey was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals and will head to camp looking to earn a spot in their defensive backfield.

CB Tyrique Stevenson was selected by the Chicago Bears and TE Will Mallory is now an Indianapolis Colt.

There are 24 HS recruits joining Miami and their class is ranked eighth nationally. Nine players have transferred to The U. The latest portal addition is Jordan Davis, a CB out of Oklahoma U who committed to Miami last week.

Miami coaches will be working every day between now and fall practice to add players they believe will strengthen the program.

Let me repeat what I’ve opined here before. When Head Coach Mario Cristobal took the reins of the Miami Football program, it was broken and in need of extensive repair. The return of UM Football to an elite level is a work in progress.

Patience from Hurricane Football Nation is needed. Supporters must hope for and expect a 8-4 or 9-3 record and a decent bowl game appearance this year. In 2024, a top tier bowl will be the goal and in 2025 the Canes will hopefully be again competing for a national championship.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL NEWS-

Head Coach Katie Meier has announced the addition of four players from the transfer portal.

Shayeann Day-Wilson, a 5’6” G who was ACC Freshman of the Year in 2022 while at Duke is now a Cane. Mississaugua, Ontario native and Arizona transfer, 5’11” Lemyah Hylton will be a needed wing defender.

Junior Ally Stedman, a 5’9” G joins from Pepperdine and 5’10” graduate student Jaida Patrick is a Cane after two years at Duke and two at Columbia. There are a couple of open spots on the roster and any additions will be reported as they happen.

MEN’S BASKETBALL-

There is no news on the recruiting front. Miami is on the short list of a number of the best players in the transfer portal as well as some top HS recruits. Canes Corner is checking Miami Basketball, Twitter and Recruiting sites practically every hour and hopes to bring great news very soon.

Head Coach Jim Larranaga will be inducted into the Miami Athletics Hall of Fame on Thursday, March 4th. I’ve been gifted a ticket and am very thankful to be able to attend.