Miami baseball completes week undefeated after sweeping Towson

The Miami baseball team bounced back after getting swept by Florida last weekend by completing a 4-0 week following a weekend sweep of Towson.

The Miami baseball team improved to 8-3 on the season with a weekend sweep of Towson following their walk-off victory over South Florida on Wednesday. The Hurricanes received stellar pitching throughout the weekend outscoring the Tigers 19-6 in the three games.

Miami defeated South Florida 7-5 on Wednesday afternoon with a Raymond Gil two-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. The victories over the Bulls and Tigers kept the Hurricanes undefeated this season outside of the sweep by the Gators in Coral Gables last weekend.

Miami won 9-3 in the series finale against Towson on Sunday after the Tigers rallied from a 3-0 deficit after three innings. A five-run Hurricanes sixth and another run in the seventh provided the margin of victory. Shortstop Anthony Vilar was 2-5 with two runs scored and three RBIs in the victory.

Slade Cecconi struggled for the first time in three starts this season. The Sophomore allowed three runs, all earned on three hits and three walks with eight strikeouts in 4.1 innings. Miami has received an outstanding weekend starting pitching this season. Brian VanBelle and Chris McMahon got the wins to begin the weekend.

Van Belle continued his dominance this season in the 2-1 Miami victory over Towson in the Friday night series opener. The rare fifth-year senior in college baseball, Van Belle threw seven innings, allowing three hits and one walk with 14 strikeouts. Van Belle has not allowed an earned run in 20 innings this season.

Luis Tuero and Jordan Lala drove in the only runs of the game for Miami in two-run fifth to stake the Hurricanes to an early lead. Towson added a run in the ninth. McMahon continued the dominant starting pitching for Miami on Saturday night. The junior pitched 6.2 innings yielding three hits and two walks with 12 strikeouts.

The Miami offense lept at their opportunities on Saturday night. A four-run first and three-run second gave the Hurricanes a cushion that Towson could not recover from. The Hurricanes added a run in the sixth to stretch the lead to eight before the Tigers added two in the ninth.

Vilar was the hitting star on Saturday with his first home run of the season, two runs scored and three RBIs in an 8-2 Miami victory. Miami outlasted South Florida on Wednesday after losing a three-run led when the Bulls scored one in the sixth and two in the seven to even the score before Gil’s heroics.

The Miami baseball team will play their first road game of the season at Florida Atlantic on Wednesday night after 11 straight at home to begin the season. The Owls are 5-3 this season. FAU began the season with five straight wins before losing to Texas Tech on Friday night and Florida State Saturday and Sunday in Tallahassee.

Miami will begin their ACC schedule next weekend when they host Pittsburgh who has gotten off to a surprising 10-1 start. The Panthers are the only team in the ACC Coastal Division with double-digit wins this season. North Carolina State is the only ACC Atlantic team to accomplish that feat beginning the season 10-0.