The Miami Hurricanes made Mark Light Field look like a little league park, launching four homers and 14 hits as part of a 19-1 demolition of Virginia Tech.
Right fielder Derek Williams once again led the way for the Canes, notching his third-straight game with a homer alongside a rally-starting double in the third.
Other Canes of note include Brylan West, Jake Ogden and Alonzo Alvarez — all three launching homers which totaled seven runs driven in.
Every Hurricane starter tallied a hit, RBI and a run.
UM came into the matchup only tenth in the ACC, making this weekend’s conference matchup against VT all the more important for its season outlook.
And the mercy-rule win was the best series opener the Canes could’ve asked for.
After scoring first in their last six games, the Hurricanes expected to continue that trend Friday night. However, starting pitcher Rob Evans ran into some trouble out of the gate.
The 6-foot-1 lefty walked the Hokies’ leadoff batter in four pitches, giving the Hokies the first run on an RBI triple down the first base line.
Across five innings of work, Evans notched seven strikeouts and only allowed four hits en route to earning his sixth win of the season.
Despite what the final scoreline would suggest, Miami didn’t erase the deficit immediately, sat down 1-2-3 to close the first inning.
The Canes broke VT’s lead in the bottom of the second as Williams smoked the first pitch of his first at bat over the left field wall to tie the game 1-1.
The 383-foot bomb adds another homer to Williams’s growing total (12) on the season, leading the Hurricanes.
The Canes weren’t done, though.
Following singles by Vance Shehan and designated hitter Alonzo Alvarez, center fielder Fabio Peralta drove them both in with a triple down the right-field line eerily similar to Tech’s in the first inning.
Second Baseman Jake Ogden joined Williams, sending a homer to left for a 2-run shot, giving the Canes a 5-1 lead.
In the third, Williams started another rally with a double down the right field line, reaching third on an error in right. After first baseman Brylan West was hit by a pitch, Sheahan laid down a picture-perfect bunt for a hit and an RBI.
As the Hokies starter Brendan Yagesh began to falter, they issued their first change of the day with bases loaded and two outs.
But this was not enough to stop the Canes offense. With bases loaded, Catcher Alex Sosa ripped a ball against the shift to right field, scoring two.
After walking Williams to once again load the bases, VT made their second change within the same inning, bringing in righty reliever Aiden Robertson in hopes to end the inning.
The Hurricanes remained uncontainable.
On the eighth pitch of West’s at bat, he pulled a homer to left, falling right under the scoreboard for a grand slam — marking a nine-run third inning.
With one out in the bottom of the fourth, Alvarez smoked a homer to center, joining a growing list of Miami batters to put one over the fence this game with a 403 foot solo-shot.
Immediately followed by a Peralta double, and moments later the same from Cuvet, the Canes scored a run and extended Miami’s lead to 15.
Despite a Hokies’ double in the fifth, Evans threw another scoreless frame — maintaining Miami’s lead.
With VT’s fifth pitcher taking the mound, the story stayed much the same.
After walking the first two, righty Tyler Stone grooved one to left fielder Dylan Dubovik, whose oppo-shot drove in one.
Pinch hitter Max Galvin, returning from injury, tallied an infield single for his first appearance since February.
Quickly subbed for pinch runner Mason Greenhouse, Galvin’s awaited return brought overwhelming support from fans, with many cheering for his entrance.
As the inning concluded with three more runs for Miami, Brixton Lofgren came in to end Evans’s dominant outing, with Erick Peralta closing the final frame.
A scoreless sixth and seventh inning for both parties sustained the lopsided score, with the game ending in the seventh due to the mercy rule.
Miami will aim to continue its offensive momentum tomorrow night at 6 p.m. with the opportunity to secure its second straight ACC series win.