Miami Hurricanes Hitters Continue to Struggle
The Miami Hurricanes offense has continued to be almost non-existent after the Hurricanes were swept in a two game mid-week series against Florida International. The Hurricanes were outscored 15-3 in the two games to drop to 4-8 on the season.
The Hurricanes have now lost eight of their last ten after taking the opening two games of the season against Rutgers. Their offense was expected to take a hit with significant losses from last season’s team. No one could have predicated it would be among the worst in college baseball.
The Hurricanes have tumbled out of the rankings after being between eight and 21st in the pre-season. Miami has scored 30 runs in 12 games this season. That ranks 278th out 295 teams in Division I. All of the teams below them have played less games.
The Hurricanes are dead last or 295th with a .172 team batting average. Romy Gonzalez is the only Hurricane that’s been a consistent run producer and he is hitting .205 with a .239 on base percentage. Gonzalez does have a .477 slugging percentage with three home runs and eight RBIs.
The Hurricanes have received solid play from catcher Michael Amditis who has had to replace White Sox first round draft pick Zach Collins behind the plate. Amditis has played in six games and started five. He leads Miami with a .357 batting average and has three RBIs.
The top two starters on the Hurricanes have pitched like aces. Preseason All-America candidate Jesse Lapore is 1-2 with a 0.90 ERA. His two losses came in 1-0 shutouts. Left-handed Junior College transfer Jed Bargfelt is 1-1 with a 2.55 ERA.
The Hurricanes split the two game series with FIU between Mark Light Stadium and at FIU. The Golden Panthers improved their record to 5-6 with a 12-1 beat down of the Hurricanes in the opening game.
Miami starter Gregory Feliz allowed three earned runs in 5.1 innings to drop his first decision of the season. He threw 83 pitches allowing two hits, two hit batters and struck out seven.
The Hurricanes trailed 3-0 when his line score was finished for the night. FIU tacked on two more runs in the top of the sixth to extend the lead to 5-0. They completely blew the game wide open in the eighth with seven runs.
Miami’s bullpen was shelled. They gave up nine runs, all earned on eight hits, one walk and one hit batsman. All of the damage came against Keven Pimental, Ryan Guerra and Michael Perez. Neither Guerra or Perez got any batters out in the eighth.
Daniel Rivero came on to clean up the mess. He allowed one hit and stuck out two in a scoreless eighth. Daniel Epstein allowed a hit and had one strikeout in an uneventful ninth inning. Gonzalez plated Johnny Ruiz in the bottom of the ninth for the Hurricanes only run.
In game two at FIU Stadium, Miami was unable to hold a 2-0 lead in the late innings. The Golden Panthers scored single runs in the sixth, seventh and ninth to earn the comeback victory.
Evan McKendry pitched exceptionally well for the Hurricanes in the start. He went five innings allowing three hits and a walk while striking out six. He threw 83 pitches.
The Hurricanes bullpen imploded for the second consecutive game. Frankie Bartow came on in the ninth and took the loss.
Next: Miami Hurricanes Baseball’s Offense Continues to Struggle
Next Up: Miami hosts Georgia Tech to begin ACC play. The Yellow Jackets are 9-2 and currently ranked 16th in the country.