On opening night at Mark Light Field, the Miami Hurricanes gave their fans something to cheer for, scoring 13 runs in four innings, hammering the Niagara Purple Eagles on Friday night 14-2.
UM held a 3-0 lead through three innings. In the fourth inning, the wheels fell off for the Purple Eagles. After securing two outs from the first two batters, Niagara’s fielding faltered.
With two runners on, NU second baseman Tyler ViVacqua let the ball hit from Max Galvin go underneath his glove, scoring Dorian Gonzalez Jr. and giving UM a 4-0 lead. ViVacqua’s error was the first of five errors in the inning.
“Niagara is a better team than they played tonight,” Miami coach J.D. Arteaga said. “I think this might be their second day outside after yesterday.”
The fourth inning ended with the Hurricanes scoring 10 runs, one earned, on six hits and four walks. 14 UM batters got to the plate, 12 of them with two outs.
With the help of poor fielding from Niagara, the Miami offense put up a clinic at the plate. All nine Hurricane starters got on base, scoring 14 runs on 12 hits before getting pulled in the sixth inning.
Penn State transfer designated hitter Bobby Marsh had himself a day in his Miami debut. The graduate student went 4-for-4, tallying two doubles and bringing in four runners in the process.
“We don’t call him Bobby Barrels for nothing,” Miami starting pitcher Nick Robert said.
With two runners on and two outs, UM freshman center fielder Michael Torres brought home his first base hit and RBI of his collegiate career, smacking a single up the middle. The Miami native’s first career hit was the Hurricanes’ first run of the 2025 campaign.
In the bottom of the third, Marsh went opposite field for his second hit of the night, a double into the left-center field gap, sending Gonzalez and Derek Williams to the plate.
Robert made his starting pitching debut for Miami on Friday. In five innings, the sophomore struck out four batters, surrendering four hits and one run.
The Stuart, Fla. native spent his freshman season filling in all the bullpen needs for the Hurricanes, appearing in a team-high 29 games. In 2025, the sophomore is slated to be the Friday night starter for the season.
“He’s [Nick Robert] throwing Friday nights as we knew he could handle it,” Arteaga said. “The only reason he wasn’t there last year was because we needed him in the bullpen.”
NU’s Friday starter Gage Wheaton struggled finding the zone against the UM offense. The sophomore from western New York finished his debut going three innings, allowing three runs on four hits, tallying three strikeouts and three walks. On 60 pitches, Wheaton threw 31 for a strike.
Niagara came into the 2025 season ranked fifth in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Coach’s Poll. The Purple Eagles are coming off their best season in program history, making the NCAA Regional for the first time. NU also won its first MAAC regular season title since 1997, finishing the season 38-17 and 20-4 in conference play.
Miami looks to take the opening series against the Niagara Purple Eagles with the second of three games at Mark Light Field. Cincinnati transfer Griffin Hugus is slated to toe the slab in Coral Gables against Niagara’s Matthew DelVecchio. Saturday’s matchup will take place at 6 p.m.