The No. 22 Miami Hurricanes took the field for the first time in 257 days to open their 2023 campaign, but the result was more of the same.
Miami fell to Penn State, 9-5, on Friday night in its return to Mark Light Field after Arizona upset the ‘Canes in Coral Gables last June in the NCAA tournament.
Down 9-2 in the eighth, the Hurricanes scored three runs and had runners on second and third with two outs, but the Nittany Lions thwarted Miami’s comeback attempt by retiring the next batter.
“I didn’t see any quit from our guys. We just did not play good baseball tonight,” head coach Gino DiMare said.
The Nittany Lions opened the scoring with a four-run second inning and never looked back. Sophomore pitcher Gage Ziehl, in his first career start as a Hurricane, was pulled after giving up five runs in two innings, and Miami was on its third pitcher by the fifth.
Penn State finished with 16 hits and a .372 team batting average. Leadoff hitter Jay Harry led the Nittany Lions with two hits and a team-high three RBI.
“We just didn’t do much in all phases, starting with the mound,” DiMare said. “I thought a lot of our pitches were up in the zone. We fell behind a lot of hitters, went to a lot of deep counts … all things that go against being successful, we just didn’t get it done pitching wise.”
Pitcher Travis Luensmann picked up the win for Penn State, allowing one run on two hits in five innings pitched.
Miami, meanwhile, mustered just two hits through the sixth before finding its rhythm in the later innings with four runs. Ziehl was tagged with the loss.
Right-handed pitcher Alejandro Torres was the lone bright spot for the ‘Canes on the defensive end, as he allowed no runs and three hits in 2.2 innings pitched while notching a career-high four strikeouts.
Trailing by five in the seventh, right fielder Zach Levenson reignited the crowd with a home run to center.
Then, after Penn State added three runs in the eighth, Miami scored three of its own in the bottom half thanks to third baseman Yohandy Morales’ RBI double and a two-run shot by Ian Farrow. For a brief moment, the disbelief that had permeated throughout Mark Light Field for much of the game subsided.
“I think hitting is contagious, and we had a couple of hits there, so I think a lot of guys bounced off a lot of guys and got more aggressive,” Levenson said.
However, shortstop Dominic Pitelli ended the eighth with a groundout to second base, stranding runners on second and third.
With the bases loaded in the second, Harry opened the scoring with a three-RBI double to right field. Thomas Bramley scored Harry on the next at-bat with a double in the same exact spot.
Miami and Penn State traded home runs in the third. After the Nittany Lions extended their lead to 5-0, Pitelli put the ‘Canes on the board with a solo shot.
However, the Nittany Lions went up 6-1 with a homer off pitcher Ben Chestnutt in the fifth and did enough the rest of the way to secure the victory.
Next up, the ‘Canes look to even the series on Saturday against Penn State at Mark Light Field. First pitch is slated for 7 p.m.