Lifted by a five-run tenth inning, the Miami Hurricanes took down the Clemson Tigers 8-3 to open a three game series on Thursday night on the road at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
With two outs and the bases loaded in the tenth, up stepped Hurricane hero Daniel Cuvet.
One of Miami’s most productive hitters in program history, there was zero doubt from the dugout that the Fort Lauderdale native would come through for a UM side desperate for an ACC series opening win.
Cuvet would prove that confidence right, smoking a ball to third base that Tryston McCladdie couldn’t handle, sending the ball down the left field line and bringing home all three runners.
The Canes plated two more insurance runs to extend the lead to five, heading to the bottom half of the inning just three outs away from a crucial road win.
Closer Ryan Bilka trotted back onto the mound to begin his third inning of work on the night. Full of adrenaline as he stared the Clemson hitters down, the Richmond transfer sat down the side with three strikeouts, earning both the win for himself and UM.
Bilka threw three scoreless innings from the bullpen, allowing only three hits in his longest outing of the year reaching more than 50 pitches.
The Hurricanes got on the board early, as Alex Sosa worked a walk and Derek Williams singled to put two men on base. With two outs, Brylan West came up to the plate and delivered, shooting an RBI single up the middle to score a run.
West led the way on offense, with three hits and two RBIs, continuing his strong run of form this season.
The Canes built on their lead during the third inning, starting off with Sosa as he ripped a double down the left field line. West once again came up big, bringing Sosa home with a double of his own. He was brought in by Vance Sheahan, who forced an RBI single through the right side, extending the lead to 3-0.
This lead proved crucial for Miami, who started freshman left-hander Sebastian Santos-Olson on the mound. Usually the midweek starter, Santos-Olson was forced to make his first ACC start as typical opener AJ Ciscar was ruled out with a bicep strain.
The bats finally came alive for the Tigers in the bottom of the fifth after a Tyler Lichtenberger single and a Bryce Clavon double gave Clemson runners on first and third with one out.
Lyndon Glidewell took the mound for the Hurricanes to relieve Santos-Olson in a tough spot, looking to get them out of a jam. The Austin Peay transfer escaped the jam only allowing one run.
The Tigers inched closer once more in the sixth as a plethora of errors ruined Frank Menendez’s debut appearance for Miami.
After Luke Gaffney reached on an error by West, back-to-back bloop singles brought him home, cutting the deficit to just one run. With all the momentum, Lichtenberger launched an RBI single into right field, tying the game up at three.
It appeared Clemson would send its fans home victorious in the ninth with two runners in scoring position. But with the game on the line, Bilka came up huge with a strikeout, getting Miami out of a tough jam and sending the game to extra innings where the Canes handled business.
Miami (20-6, 3-4 ACC), will aim to ride the momentum to its first ACC series win of the season.