Miami Hurricanes Baseball Hosts Wake Forest to Begin 8 Game Homestand

The Miami Hurricanes baseball team begins an eight-game homestand this weekend when they host Wake Forest. The Hurricanes are 11-14 overall and 4-5 in the ACC, tied for second in the Coastal Division.

Miami is coming off of a 3-0 loss at Florida Gulf Coast on Wednesday night. The shutout was Miami’s fifth of the season. After winning four of five, the Hurricanes have now dropped five of their last seven games.

Wake Forest enters the three-game series 19-7 overall and 6-3 in the ACC Atlantic tied for third with Florida State. The Demon Deacons bring a high-powered offense to Mark Light stadium.

Wake is second in the ACC in batting average and home runs at .318 and 48 long balls. The home run total is also second in the country. Their 236 runs lead the ACC by 30 over Florida State who is second with 206.

The Deacons power is spread up and down the lineup. No one has more than nine. Their entire starting lineup has double digits in RBIs.

Third baseman Johnny Aiello leads Wake with nine home runs. The biggest run producers have been Catcher Ben Breazeale and first baseman Gavin Sheets.

Breazeale is hitting .402 with five home runs and 31 RBIs. Sheets is hitting .333 with eight home runs and 40 RBIs. Sheets leads the ACC and is third in the country in RBIs and RBIs per game.

Six of the Demon Deacons nine position starters are hitting over .300 and eight have an over .400 on-base percentage After starting the season 1-3 including getting swept at Houston, Wake has gone 18-4 since.

After starting the 1-3 including getting swept at Houston, Wake has gone 18-4 since. The common opponents between Miami and Wake Forest have been Georgia Tech and North Carolina State.

Wake Forest won two of three from both NC State and Georgia Tech. Both series were in Winston-Salem. Miami won two of three from Tech at the Light and lost two of three to the Wolfpack in Raleigh.

Two of three Demon Deacons weekend starters have been solid. They will start Parker Dunshee on Friday, Donnie Sellers on Saturday and Connor Johnstone on Sunday.

Dunshee has struggled going 4-1 with a 5.05 ERA. Teams are hitting .268 against him and he has given up five home runs. Dunshee can be overpowering at times. He has 45 strikeouts in 35 innings.

Sellers is 3-1 with a 3.86 ERA and.244 batting average against with three home runs allowed. Johnstone has been the Deacons best starter this season. He is 3-0 with a 3.32 ERA and two home runs allowed.

More from Canes Warning

Miami counters with their usual weekend rotation of Jesse Lapore, Jeb Bargfeldt and Michael Mediavilla.

Lapore has pitched outstanding all season but was rocked in his last start. In a 7-2 loss to North Carolina, Lapore gave up seven runs, six earned on five hits and five walks without a strikeout. He is 1-3 with a 4.64 ERA.

Lapore’s outing against the Wolfpack significantly inflated his ERA. Bargfeldt has been a pleasant surprise as a Junior college transfer and the team’s second starter.

Bargfeldt is 2-2 with a 2.61 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and .217 batting average against in 31 innings. Mediavilla has struggled after being on preseason All-American watch lists. He is 3-3 with a 4.85 ERA and 1.65 WHIP.

The Hurricanes offense has been so anemic that their only hitter in the top 50 in batting average is Carl Chester. Chester is hitting .269 with two home runs and 16 RBIs.

In addition to Chester, Romy Gonzalez and Michael Burns are the only Hurricanes that have reached double figures in RBIs. We knew going into the season that the Canes were going to have to rely on small ball, but the offense has struggled far more than expected.

Next: Miami Hurricanes Basketball Ranked 87th All-Time

This will be a huge stretch for the ‘Canes. With eight straight home games, they are going to have to win at least five and hopefully six or seven to get back into the mix for an NCAA Tournament bid. Their 44-year streak is in serious jeopardy of ending this season.

Home/Miami Hurricanes Baseball