Entering their second week in ACC play, the Miami Hurricanes (14-11, 1-5 ACC) hosted in-state rival fifth-ranked Florida State (20-3, 5-1 ACC).
The Seminoles gashed the Hurricanes in game one, run-ruling Miami 14-1 in seven innings. Miami evened the series on Friday, winning 9-6 and setting up a massive rubber-match on Saturday.
Saturday belonged to FSU, as a seven-run fourth inning led the way for a 10-6 victory. For the Hurricanes, they drop their fourth straight weekend series.
Since ACC play began on March 14, UM is 2-5, getting out-scored 60-35. After this iteration of the rivalry, FSU controls the all-time series 164-137-4.
The Hurricanes are going to need to figure it out before their season falls off the rails.
Miami’s pitching is a serious concern
Entering the season, Miami baseball coach J.D. Arteaga said that the 2025 Hurricanes were one of the deepest pitching staffs he’s ever had to work since joining UM in 2003.
Despite these sentiments, the Hurricane struggles this season can often be attributed to inconsistent pitching.
In 2024, the Hurricanes starters of Gage Ziehl, Rafe Schlesinger and Herrick Hernandez posted a 5.28 ERA. Now, all three starters are gone, and the replacements haven’t been able to step up in the last few weeks.
While Cincinnati transfer and Saturday starter Griffin Hugus, with a 3.90 ERA, has pitched well, Nick Robert and Brian Walters haven’t been able to match.
In their last three starts against Connecticut, Wake Forest and Florida State, Nick Robert and Brian Walters have surrendered a combined 35 runs in 23.2 innings. They will need to perform better if the ’Canes want to be competitive in a loaded ACC.
The bullpen has had its inconsistencies themselves. Against FSU, the relievers allowed 12 of the Seminoles’ 30 runs over the weekend.
The weekend prior, against Wake Forest, UM’s bullpen was far from perfect. In game one of the day-night doubleheader, Jackson Cleveland surrendered the game-tying homer to Kade Lewis in the eighth inning and Carson Fischer gave up the walk-off on Jacob Burley’s RBI single in the 10th.
In the night game, Arteaga gave the ball to Alex Giroux in the sixth inning, holding a 7-5 lead. In the bottom of the inning, Giroux could only get one out, allowing two runs and letting the game get tied at seven.
The Miami coach handed the ball to freshman Lazara Collera, who could also only get one out, as he gave up five runs on three hits. Both games involving bullpen struggles played a vital role in Wake Forest sweeping Miami two weekends ago.
UM’s pitching as a whole must be better if they want to compete with the best of the best in the ACC.
Miami cannot compete with the best of the ACC
The ACC has seven teams ranked in the top 25, with two in the top 10. After going 1-5 against 11th-ranked WF and fifth-ranked FSU, it’s clear that UM is not going to be able to compete with the best of the best this year.
The Hurricanes are tied for 12th in the conference in batting average, at .274. Pitching wise, they have allowed 136 runs, the most in the ACC. UM has a 5.71 team ERA, the second highest in the conference. In the field, UM has 25 errors, the third most in the conference.
Unless improvements are made, with weekend series with North Carolina and Pittsburgh coming up, the Hurricanes are bound to be sitting near the bottom of the ACC for the second year in a row.
The Hurricanes have never finished back-to-back seasons under .500 in conference play in their 21 years in the ACC. Miami is at risk of having two straight sub .500 overall seasons for the first time in the program’s 85-year history.
The Miami Hurricanes will host Stetson (12-12, 3-2 ASUN) on Wednesday at Mark Light Field. After the midweek series, UM will travel to Chapel Hill for an ACC matchup against the 17th-ranked UNC Tarheels.