On a picturesque Thursday night at Mark Light Field, the Miami Hurricanes began their final series of the regular season against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Designated hitter Davis Johnson’s three-run home run in the third inning proved to be the difference, as Notre Dame edged the Hurricanes 3-2.
Following a Jake Kulikowski RBI single in the ninth to cut the deficit to one, Renzo Gonzalez stepped up to the plate as the go-ahead run. Facing reliever Tobey McDonough, the first baseman lined a deep fly ball to left field that gave Hurricane fans hope of a tie game. But as the ball reached the wall, Jared Zimbardo made a leaping grab, robbing the hit and sealing the win for Notre Dame.
In the third, Miami head coach J.D. Arteaga opted to intentionally walk sophomore slugger Carson Tinney in favor of Johnson. On the first pitch of the at-bat, Johnson hit a three-run home run over the wall in left-center, just past a leaping Michael Torres.
Asked about the decision, Arteaga said he didn’t want to let one of the conference’s best hitters beat them.
“He’s their big damage guy,” Arteaga said. “Going in, we weren’t going to let him beat us, we took our chance.”
Johnson’s home run was the only blip on an otherwise strong outing from junior right-hander Griffin Hugus. The Cincinnati transfer allowed three runs on six hits over seven innings, striking out six and walking one. He finishes the regular season with a 3.92 ERA, the best among UM starters.
“I felt like besides one swing, I went out there and competed,” Hugus said after the game.
Shortstop Jake Ogden opened the scoring for Miami in the third, blasting a solo home run over the left-field wall. The Homestead native’s sixth homer of the season cut the deficit to 3-1.
Notre Dame ace Jack Radel delivered his best road outing of the year in his final regular-season start. The sophomore struck out six and allowed one run on four hits over 7.1 innings.
After the game, Arteaga tipped his cap to the sophomore starter.
“We got a lot of weak contact in those hitters counts,” Arteaga said. “We didn’t do a good job of adjusting.”
Despite the loss, Torres continued to shine defensively. On a fly ball hit from Peter Brzustewicz, the freshman made a leaping grab at the wall in center field, taking away a two-run home run.
The Fighting Irish (31-19, 13-15 ACC) entered Thursday on a six-game winning streak and are pushing for a strong finish to keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive. As of Sunday, Notre Dame is projected to miss the 64-team field and will likely need a deep ACC tournament run.
After being swept at Virginia, the Hurricanes (30-22, 14-13 ACC) are looking to build momentum ahead of next week’s ACC tournament in Charlotte. According to D1Baseball, Miami is projected as the No. 2 seed in the Baton Rouge Regional. A series win against Notre Dame and a strong showing in Charlotte could boost their chances of hosting a regional in Coral Gables.
Miami looks to even the series on Friday behind freshman right-hander AJ Ciscar, who will face Notre Dame junior righty Rory Fox. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.