Miami baseball ACC Tournament run ends late in semifinals to Duke

The Miami baseball team managed only two hits in an 8-2 loss to Duke in the ACC Tournament semifinals on Saturday night in Charlotte. Miami took a 2-0 lead on a Daniel Cuvet home run in the top of the fourth. Cuvet's opposite-field dinger was the game's first hit for either team.

Miami held the lead through the seventh. Herick Hernandez pitched five innings, allowing one run, one earned with one hit, five walks and nine strikeouts. Three of the five walks came in the fifth inning when Duke got its first hit and the first run. The Blue Devils scored their first run of the game on a bases-loaded walk.

After the Zac Morris bases-loaded walk in the fifth got Duke on the board. A Jimmy Evans sacrifice fly in his 12th at bat of the season tied the game in the seventh. Duke blew the game open with a six run eighth inning. Alex Stone and Devin Obee bashed long two-run home runs and Duke tacked on two more for the final 8-2 margin.

Duke plays Florida State in the ACC Championship game on Sunday. Miami lost all four games to Duke in 2023. The three regular season games versus Duke in Durham were all one-run games with two walk-offs. Cuvet set the Miami single-season home run record by a freshman in the loss on Saturday.

Miami finishes the season with a 27-30 record. This was the first losing season for Miami since the Hurricanes finished 11-12 in 1957. Baseball Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx was in his first of two seasons as the Miami head coach in 1957. Miami will miss the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the last seven postseasons.

Miami last missed the NCAA Tournament in 2018. That was the second straight season Miami missed the NCAA Tournament. Miami made 44 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 1973 through 2016. Miami signed the fourth-best 2024 Class per Perfect Game.