Miami baseball has .500 week after losing series at Louisville

It looked like Miami would get the win in game three with the six-run first inning. Hurricanes starter Brian VanBelle and ace relievers Danny Federman and Greg Veliz couldn’t hold the lead.

VanBelle pitched 4.2 innings allowing five runs, all earned on five hits with five walks and no strikeouts. Federman came on and pitched 2.1 innings and allowed three runs, all earned on four hits with a walk and two strikeouts. He took the loss to fall to 1-3 in 2019.

The last three series in the ACC this season are critical. Miami will be favored in all three. There is no reason for them to go any less than 7-2. Wake Forest and Virginia Tech are two of the worst teams in the conference. The Demon Deacons are 10-11 in the ACC and 23-18 overall. The Hokies are 22-18, 7-14.

Duke will be a bit tougher but the series in is Coral Gables so a sweep is not out of the question. The Blue Devils are 24-16 overall and tied with Miami at 11-10 in third place in the ACC Coastal. Miami is on track to receive their first NCAA Tournament bid since they advanced to the College World Series in 2016.

The Hurricanes are currently 18th in the RPI through the Thursday night loss to Louisville. The win in the second game of the series should boost their resume. Miami doesn’t have many chances to boost their RPI number until the ACC Tournament. Clemson, Duke and Miami are currently tied for sixth in the conference.