Heading into the bottom of the ninth inning tied at seven runs a piece, the Hurricanes needed some late-night heroics. Luckily, they got just that as senior catcher Carlos Perez laced a single into left field, bringing in the winning run as Miami defeated New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) Highlanders by a score of 8-7 on Friday night at Mark Light Field.

The bottom of the ninth was a UM clinic on the little things of baseball. To get things started in the inning, freshman Daniel Cuvet, in his ‘Canes debut, lined a single into left field with nobody out. Next up, Jacoby Long put down a beautiful bunt (which was initially a sacrifice attempt), so perfect it ended up being a single. Like Long, Dorian Gonzalez Jr. also laid down a perfect bunt to load the bases. One batter later came the hero Perez, who scorched a single through the infield for the Miami win and sent the Light into a frenzy on day one.

Perez said, “It felt great … First game of the season. We battled and we came through. It’s a great feeling.”

While the late-game heroics stole the show, the unsung hero of this game was the Hurricanes bullpen. After a shaky start by Gage Ziehl, who gave up seven earned runs, the bullpen followed up with 4.1 scoreless innings, giving the offense just enough time to get back into and eventually win the game.

The workhorses out of the pen were Julian Hernandez and Nick Roberts, who gave up a combined one hit and one walk in 3.2 innings pitched and killed all NJIT momentum.

Head coach J.D. Arteaga said, “Nick Roberts was outstanding his first time out. Julian was outstanding his first time out. You kind of want to get their feet wet the first time around and they got thrown into the fire right away, and they responded the way we expected them to respond.”

Offensively, UM had its ups and downs. Early on, the offense was on fire. NJIT starter Aidan Kidd had control issues throughout his short start, and the ‘Canes made him pay. After loading the bases on two walks and a hit by pitch, Dorian Gonzalez Jr. came up to the plate and smoked a line drive over the left fielder’s head for a bases-clearing double, putting Miami up 3-0 in the first.

UM tacked on one more in both the second and third innings thanks to a Blake Cyr sacrifice flyout and a Lorenzo Carrier opposite field home run to extend the lead to 5-0.

Following back-to-back rough innings in the field, the Hurricanes trailed 7-5 with the offense at a standstill. The Highlander bullpen was strong in the middle innings, holding the ‘Canes scoreless in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings.

Cyr came to the rescue at just the right time, blasting a shot to dead center field and bringing Mark Light back to life. The Cyr homer sparked a small rally that saw one more run across the plate on a Jason Torres sac-fly, knotting the game at seven. Tying the game up here set the stage for the Miami walk-off in the ninth.

While Ziehl’s stat line may not look pretty, it does not truly represent how he pitched. Ziehl started practically untouchable. He retired six of the first nine batters he faced and was perfect through three innings. The second time through the order, it did not go as Ziehl had planned, and the Highlander lineup succeeded in getting hits. Hopefully, Ziehl can take the dominance he displayed early on and extend it longer in his next start.

Arteaga said, “The first pitch he (Ziehl) threw in the fourth was a home-run and it just kind of snowballed on him a little bit … you’re so amped up and you’re going so good the tendency is just to sometimes to relax mentally.”

The Hurricanes are back in action again with a double-header today against NJIT, with the first pitch of game one at 2 p.m. and the first pitch of game two at 7 p.m. back at Mark Light Field.

Coming off the heels of another season that ended by being knocked out of the regional round of the NCAA tournament, Hurricanes baseball is looking to rebrand its identity with a new head coach and new faces in the lineup in hopes of a trip to Omaha to cap off the season.

“It’s going to be a scrappy team,” new Miami baseball head coach J.D. Arteaga said. “It’s a team that’s going to put pressure on defenses on the bases. We’re not the fastest right, but you’re going to see an aggressive style of baseball on the bases.”

Some new faces that could emerge as star players are freshman third basemen Daniel Cuvet and graduate student infielder JD Urso.

Cuvet, from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was a highly regarded prospect heading into this fall. He ranked No. 36 nationally for his class on Perfect Game, including being drafted in the 17th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Cuvet has lived up to all this hype in the pre-season and should be a household name in just a short time.

Cuvet said, “I feel like in college we have way more focus on winning and being a winning baseball club … I love that. I’m a big winner and I think the guys around here are. Freshman player of the year is the biggest goal I have for myself.”

Urso, a transfer from the University of Tampa, was a key piece on an incredibly successful Tampa team last season. Urso slashed a solid .347 batting average with an on-base percentage of .441. While a new face for the Hurricanes, Urso should be a key veteran for many of the younger players, provide consistent production for the lineup, and provide solid defense at shortstop.

Even with all these new faces, Miami will continue relying on some old faces for production, especially early in the season. Guys like second basemen Blake Cyr and utility player Dorian Gonzalez Jr. will be staples in the heart of the order and vital for offensive success.

“Just to win. Just to play together as a team and really to show everyone what and how hard we’ve been working and really kind of to shock the college baseball world,” said Cyr on what he was most excited for on Friday.

Miami’s seemingly biggest strength heading into this season, as preached by Arteaga, is its strong, veteran starting pitching rotation. The return of Gage Ziehl to be the Friday night starter is vast, and he could cement himself as one of the nation’s top arms. However, adding veterans Rafe Schlesinger and Herrick Hernandez could make the UM rotation one of the most consistent in the ACC.

Schlesinger finds his way into the rotation this season after being a bullpen arm for the ‘Canes in 2022 and 2023, where he had plentiful success, most notably last year. Schlesinger posted a 3.38 ERA in 29.1 innings pitched, along with 34 strikeouts. Towards the end of last season, he became a go-to arm out of the pen, and Arteaga hopes he will slide easily into his new role as a starter.

Hernandez enters the rotation after transferring from Miami Dade College, where he was the Friday night starter. Hernandez posted a 2.86 ERA with 90 strikeouts in almost 80 innings pitched. While new to the Hurricane program, Hernandez is a veteran and has experience being a dominant arm that he will be able to bring to the Light every start.

The early season lineups will consist of experimenting with the starting nine and the bullpen until everything naturally falls into place for Arteaga. With so many new faces and potential impact players, there are many possible combinations for success that the ‘Canes will look to find and replicate as the season progresses.

Arteaga said, “The game has a funny way of figuring itself out and the lineups going to settle in when guys do their jobs and really take control of a position or role.”

The season is on deck for UM as it is set to take on the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in a four-game series to kick off the 2024 season. The first pitch of the new season is set for Friday at 7:00 p.m. at Mark Light Field, with ace Gage Ziehl on the mound.