Friday nights at the Light are back.
With two on in the bottom of the third, NC State transfer Alex Sosa stepped up to the plate looking to make his first mark as a Hurricane. Sosa, a South Florida native wanted nothing more than an iconic moment in front of friends and family — and he did just that.
He launched a three-run homer deep to right field, throwing up the U as he rounded the bases for the first time in orange and green en route to a 13-2 Hurricane win over Lehigh.
The Hurricanes returned to the diamond in a matchup against the Lehigh Mountain Hawks to mark the start of their 2026 baseball season.
With a full crowd of 3,211 and Malachi Toney’s dot of a ceremonial first pitch, the Hurricanes were primed for a dominant performance.
However, it didn’t start perfectly for the Canes.
The first two innings stayed scoreless, with the Mountain Hawks having the upper hand. Despite some early baserunners for Lehigh on a pair of walks in the first inning and two singles in the second, Miami starter AJ Ciscar was able to hold them off.
Ciscar, a sophomore expected to lead the Canes from the Friday night role, went five innings and tallied up seven strikeouts.
On the offensive side, the night started slow for UM. Miami’s first three batters got set down in a row, but came back with a couple of walks by FIU transfer first-baseman Brylan West and sophomore left fielder Fabio Peralta, but had its chance at scoring taken away at the warning track with Vance Sheahan just barely missing a home run.
The third inning would bring the first runs for both teams, with Lehigh walking a man on and driving him in with an abundance of errors, including a miscommunication on a ground ball up the middle and a muffed grounder down the third-baseline.
Miami would end the night with three total errors, an area head coach J.D. Arteaga will hope to clean up as the weekend goes on.
Miami would overshadow this effort by Lehigh, though, raking in six runs in the bottom of the third.
Starting the inning with walks from center fielder Michael Torres and second baseman Jake Ogden, Max Galvin would stroke a two-run double on the first pitch, bringing in Miami’s first two runs.
With another pair of walks, Sosa would extend the lead with his 428-foot 106-mph introductory homer to Canes faithful.
With a Peralta RBI single, Miami would stamp its authority with a 6-1 lead entering the fourth inning.
Two innings of scoreless baseball followed, which saw Brixton Lofgren enter the game on the mound.
Lehigh would throw its second run on the board in the sixth, with Lofgren getting replaced by left-handed pitcher Jake Dorn in the seventh.
Dorn pitched a near-perfect seventh inning, snagging a line drive rocketed right back to him and sitting down the next two batters.
Miami would not add onto the lead in the inning despite Derek Williams’ second double of the night, besides the six-run third inning the Canes only notched runs in one other inning — the eighth.
Another offensive explosion ensued, courtesy of an Ogden RBI triple, followed by three RBI singles to launch their lead to eight.
Sosa ended his dream debut for Miami with two hits and four RBI, while Williams led the team with three hits.
Pinch hitter Cian Copeland would continue the eighth inning rally with a two-run RBI double to mark his first appearance at Division one baseball, a JUCO transfer from Miami-Dade College.
Another pinch hitter, freshman Jailen Watkins, notched his first career hit and RBI in college baseball.
Also in the eventful eighth, transfer relief pitcher Ryan Bilka made his debut for Miami. A Richmond transfer named as a NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watchlist, Bilka notched his first appearance as a Cane with a one out appearance.
Austin Peay transfer Lyndon Glidewell would come in to close the ninth, swiftly setting down a trio of Lehigh hitters to end the night, conceding one hit in the process.
With the win secured, Miami starts the season off hot at 1-0, set to play Lehigh again tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 14 at 6:00 p.m. EST.