Before the season, Miami coach J.D. Arteaga said this year’s group of pitchers was one of the deepest he’s ever seen. They showed that Friday night at Mark Light Field, allowing one unearned run against the Princeton Tigers, winning 3-1.
The Hurricanes pitching staff put up a dominant performance this evening against the Tigers.
Friday starting pitcher Nick Robert followed his five innings of one run ball against Niagara with another solid outing against Princeton. This evening, he threw five innings, allowed two hits, one run and two walks while striking out eight. The sophomore’s eight punchouts was a career high.
AJ Ciscar, Carson Fischer, and Will Smith followed Robert with a brilliant four innings to seal the game. The bullpen allowed just one hit in four shutout innings, striking out six in the process.
In the ninth, Smith shut the door, striking out Dylan Zdunek, tallying his first save as a ’Cane.
After out-scoring Niagara on opening weekend 35-3, the Hurricane bats fell silent on Tuesday, scoring just one run in the 2-1 loss against FAU. On Friday, the bats struggled to get much going.
In the bottom of the second, Oregon State transfer Tanner Smith powered his first home run as a ’Cane, a two-run home run over the scoreboard in left. Smith’s 378 foot bomb broke the scoreless tie. The catcher’s home run proved to be the difference in the game.
Smith is off to a fast start offensively for Miami. The senior from Arizona entered the evening with four extra-base hits and a batting average of .429 and an on-base plus slugging (OPS) of 1.253.
In the third, Princeton’s Jake Bold laced a single to left field, bringing home Tyler Googins to get the Tigers on the board for the first time this season. Bold’s RBI was the last run scored for the Tigers this evening.
Miami outfielder Max Galvin provided some much needed insurance for UM. In the sixth, the Coral Gables native lined an RBI single up the middle to score Dorian Gonzalez Jr. Galvin’s RBI extended Miami’s lead to two.
Galvin had another nice showing for the Hurricanes this evening. He tallied three of Miami’s five total hits and brought in a run of his own. The Oklahoma State transfer is now batting .400 to start his UM career.
Princeton’s Sean Episcope was strong in his first start of 2025. The sophomore from Chicago struck out six batters in five innings of work, allowing just three hits. Episcope threw one bad pitch tonight: the home run to Smith in the second.
Daniel Cuvet has been a potential note of concern for UM, although it has just been five games. The sophomore slugger entered 2025 ranked as one of the premier players in the sport, being ranked as the top third baseman in the country by D1Baseball.
So far, Cuvet has struggled to get anything going. Tonight, he went 0-for-3, striking out twice. This season, the Fort Lauderdale native has just two singles in his first 14 at-bats.
Miami (4-0) will look to continue its winning ways this weekend, playing a double-header on Saturday against the Princeton Tigers. The games at Mark Light Field will be at 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Griffin Hugus will toe the slab in game one and Alex Giroux will pitch in game two.