With runners on first and third with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, Dorian Gonzalez Jr. stepped up to the plate looking to repeat his walk-off homerun from this Saturday that beat North Carolina. Unlike UNC, the ball only needed to travel a few feet as he dropped down a bunt that scored Blake Cyr to give the Hurricanes yet another walk-off win.
Stealing the show on both sides of the field tonight was Cyr. The sophomore began his day by doubling into the left-center gap on the first pitch he saw, driving in UM’s first run. Right after, in the top of the second, Cyr went full extension to make a diving grab in left field. Somehow, this was not his best defensive play of the night, as in the top of the seventh inning, Cyr leaped up and took a homerun away from FIU’s Ryne Guida. This was a vitally important play that kept the FIU lead at one.
The scoring was minimal on both sides, as offenses struggled to get anything going throughout the middle innings of this game. A big reason for this was both teams’ inability to drive in runners in scoring position (RISP), especially Miami. FIU was a poor 1-for-6 with RISP, while UM was just 3-for-13, including an inning where the bases where left loaded with no runs after the ’Canes loaded the bases with nobody out.
This time it was the hitting that came up short, but coming into this game, the Hurricanes were 1-3 in mid-week matchups with losses to FAU, FGCU and UCF, with pitching as the main culprit. Unreliable starting pitching has been the root issue causing these losses and the answer may have been found tonight.
Although Drew Dwyer started the game, Ashton Crowther had a lights-out performance and could be the midweek starter that the ’Canes turn to in the future.
Dwyer struggled immediately, as through three batters, he had already given up a run after an out and two consecutive hits. Dwyer managed to get out of the inning giving up two runs and was pulled from the game.
Crowther entered the game for Dwyer in the second and was almost flawless. He tossed five innings of no-run ball, only allowing two hits and striking out three Panthers along the way. These midweek losses are killing Miami’s hopes of entering the top 25 rankings, but Crowther may be the guy to find consistent success in the mid-week starting role.
After Crowther exited, Brian Walters entered the tied 2-2 ballgame. He got two outs with ease and looked like he was going to strike out the third, but with two strikes, Austin Dearing took Walters deep to give FIU a one-run lead.
Walters got two more outs in the eighth before closer Nick Robert entered to shut down the game even though it was not a save situation. Robert got his one out in the eighth and three more easy ones in the ninth, dominating as he has done so far this season, setting up UM for another walk-off opportunity.
While the offense was minimal from Miami, there were some good performances from a few hitters. Daniel Cuvet got back on track after a 0-for-10 weekend against UNC going 3-for-5 including an RBI double in the first. Jason Torres stayed hot going 2-for-3 with a walk. While not reaching via a hit a single time, Lorenzo Carrier had himself a nice day at the plate drawing three walks.
Next up, the Hurricanes will have its first road series of the season, as it will head to South Bend, Indiana to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (12-8, 0-6 ACC). Gage Ziehl will likely man the mound on Friday afternoon, as Miami will look to keep its conference series steak alive. The first pitch will be at 4:30 p.m. at Frank Eck Stadium.