On Saturday afternoon at Dail Park in Raleigh, N.C., the Miami Hurricanes baseball team were sent packing by the NC State Wolfpack in the rubber match game 12-7.
The Canes entered the bottom of the seventh up 7-5, needing nine outs to close out their seventh-straight series victory. But the Wolfpack offense came alive, flipping the game on its head.
To open the frame, infielder Luke Nixon smacked his second home run of the game over the wall in right field off Miami starter AJ Ciscar.
Four batters later, Sherman Johnson lined an RBI double off Packy Bradley-Cooney, tying the score at seven. The next batter, Christian Serrano, gave the Wolfpack its first lead since the second inning with an RBI single up the middle.
With the score at 8-7 entering the eighth, the Wolfpack put the game on ice.
NC State loaded the bases on a single and two walks, putting the dangerous Johnson up to the plate.
Facing TJ Coats, Johnson drilled a grand slam into the night in left field, giving NC State a five-run lead and putting the game out of reach. Johnson finished the game 3-for-5 with five RBIs and seven total bases.
While 19 runs were scored in Saturday’s rubber match, the offense wouldn’t pick up until the bottom of the second.
Following a single and an error by Gabriel Milano, NC State catcher Drew Lanphere bunted in an attempt to move the runners over. The squeeze went to Milano, who threw it away and allowed Wyatt Peifer to score from second. The next batter, Brayden Fraasman, brought Serrano in on an RBI groundout, giving the Wolfpack and early 2-0 lead.
Miami’s bats got hot in the fourth, with five runners reaching home on six hits. Max Galvin got the ball rolling with a base hit, followed by a single from Derek Williams. The Wolfpack then walked Alex Sosa which got the bases loaded. Brylan West came to the plate and smoked a two-run single up the middle to tie the game at two.
Alonzo Alvarez, looking to move the runners over, reached on a throwing error from Peifer. Peifer’s error allowed Sosa to score from second, giving the Canes a 3-2 lead.
The offense continued to roll in the fourth, with Milano and Fabio Peralta bringing home an RBI a piece on singles, bringing the score to 5-2.
NC State came into the fifth with a vengeance, cutting into the lead and tying things up starting with a single from Andrew Wiggins followed by a base hit from Rett Johnson. Nixon then delivered a game-tying three-run homer over the wall in right field. Nixon’s first home run tied the score at five.
Miami’s bat came back in the sixth, scoring two runs with an extra-base hit from Galvin. After several singles and a hit by pitch and runners on both corners, Galvin came back to the plate ready to strike. He lined a double down the left field line to bring home Peralta and Ogden, allowing UM to retake the lead at 7-5.
Hits and runs from Nixon and Johnson led to the game being tied and a RBI double lead to Ty Head scoring giving NC State the lead. Johnson then returned with a no-doubter grand slam to close the game out 12-7. The Canes did not go down without a fight. They got the bases loaded with no outs before the relief pitcher closed the game out with two strikeouts and a ground out.
The Hurricanes return to Mark Light Field for a matchup against the FIU Panthers on Tuesday. First pitch is at 6 p.m and the Canes will then close out their regular home season in a three game conference series against Louisville starting Thursday at 7 p.m.
