The Miami Hurricanes secured a series win against No. 15 North Carolina this past weekend as Miami won the first two games dramatically each time. On Friday night, the ‘Canes sent everyone home early with a 14-1 blowout that ended in seven innings, and then a nail-biter on Saturday night ended in a Dorian Gonzalez Jr. walk-off to give Miami the series win. The ‘Canes could not complete the series sweep as North Carolina throttled the ‘Canes 18-6 on Sunday. Here are some takeaways from Miami’s most recent weekend series.
Big wins mean the ‘Canes are for real
This was the second straight weekend that Miami was able to get a series win against a top-15-ranked team. Miami has shown a lot of heart and energy when hosting these big ACC matchups.
Miami moves to 11-8 overall while picking up two key ACC wins. This early series win could pay huge dividends down the line. Miami has been solid at home, and they are taking advantage of playing at the Light.
If starting pitching is on, this team can beat anybody
On Friday and Saturday nights, Miami’s starters pitched lately. Both Gage Ziehl and Rafe Schlesinger allowed just a single run. Some excellent run support aided Ziehl, but Sclesinger felt the pressure in all seven of his innings. On Sunday, Herrick Hernandez was not at his usual elite self, as he only made it through three and a third innings.
This team showed that with their starting pitching at its peak, they can compete with the best in the ACC.
Consistency concerns
The arms and the bats have to be more consistent overall. While Miami scored 18 runs on Friday night, they were held to seven runs combined over their next two games. The bullpen arms also got shelled on Sunday. It would be nice to see the team be more consistent going forward into more ACC play.
The ‘Canes will have a quick turnaround as they face a local rival in FIU this Tuesday. The first pitch for this matchup is set for 6:00 P.M. at Mark Light Field.
All stats and data via ESPN and the Miami Hurricanes, unless otherwise