After consecutive poor performances from sophomore Nick Robert as the Friday starter, Miami head Coach J.D. Arteaga decided to change some things up. Junior Griffin Hugus, the usual Saturday starter, took the ball in game one of the three-game series at the University of North Carolina. Despite his great outing, Miami lost 2-0.
Griffin Hugus starting on a Friday night wasn’t the only change for the Miami Hurricanes. Sophomore Daniel Cuvet made his first appearance at first base, and junior Jake Ogden at third base. These defensive changes paid off, as there was only one error, compared to the whopping five errors this past Wednesday against Stetson.
As mentioned, the star of the game goes to Hugus. Pitching eight innings, giving up three hits and two runs while striking out four. He ended the night on 97 pitches. Seven of his eight innings pitched were three up and three down.
The Hurricanes had double the hits as the Tar Heels but could not plate a run. In the top of third with Ogden on first, freshman Fabio Peralta hit a double to left center with two outs when Miami assistant coach Chris Dominguez decided to send Ogden home. Ogden would be out by a step or two, resulting in the inning to the end. At that point, the score was tied at zero, and Daniel Cuvet would have come up with two runners in scoring position.
In the fourth, Cuvet hit a single but got picked off at first base. Sloppy baserunning was a factor in Miami’s loss.
Another factor happened to be the superb pitching performance by UNC’s Jake Knapp. The right-hander threw seven innings, allowing five hits and striking out 10. He threw a whopping 115 pitches.
Miami’s six hits came from the top five guys in the lineup. When your whole lineup isn’t producing, it is hard to win. Time and time again, it can be seen that when the offensive is performing, the pitching and the defense aren’t, and vice versa. Inconsistencies have been a key theme for this Miami Hurricanes baseball team.
The Hurricanes look to rebound from their 2-0 loss on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Boshamer Stadium.