Against the NC State Wolfpack on Friday, Max Galvin made a triumphant statement, one that would make most fans forget his early-season injury.
A grand slam in the seventh would return the Hurricanes’ lead, ultimately sealing the game, despite a dangerous fourth inning for NC State.
Miami’s 12-9 win over the Wolfpack in Raleigh, N.C. came as a result of the entire team’s offensive dominance, tallying 16 hits to State’s 10.
Besides Galvin, who was 2-5 with the slam, highlight players of the day include Jake Ogden, who was 3-5 with an RBI, Derek Williams (3-5; 2 RBI), and Alex Sosa (2-5; 3 RBI, HR).
Miami struck first, off the backs of second baseman Jake Ogden and Galvin, whose back-to-back base hits gave first baseman Brylan West and catcher Alonzo Alvarez RBI opportunities, which they capitalized on.
In the second, Miami held onto their offensive momentum from the first, scoring four off right fielder Derek Williams’s RBI single and a 3-run, 398 foot blast off the bat of designated hitter Alex Sosa.
With starter Lazaro Collera throwing three scoreless, the Hurricanes held onto their 6-0 lead through the third.
But the fourth brought a reinvigorated Wolfpack up to the plate, as they would notch eight runs in the inning to challenge Miami’s perceived dominant start.
The blunder can be chalked up to two metrics that have plagued the Canes from the beginning of the season: Walks and errors. With Collera allowing three free passes in the inning, along with the error in the field, Miami has continued to prove their own worst enemy in the defensive standpoint.
Collera was pulled after just 3.1 innings, having allowed seven earned runs on just six hits.
A focal piece in the Canes’s rotation, Collera looks to bounce back next week against Louisville.
Regardless, the bats remained a saving grace for the Hurricanes.
Despite NC State tacking on another in the fifth, Miami would light the spark again in the seventh, with Galvin’s 389 foot grand slam responsible for four of the five runs scored in the fateful inning.
Miami would also not allow one to cross after the fifth, with relievers Brixton Lofgren, Jake Dorn, and Lyndon Glidewell combining for a cumulative shutout to end the day.
The Hurricanes would add one more to the tally in the ninth with an RBI single from Williams to drive the score to the 12-9 final.