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Miami baseball hopes to keep rolling in ACC Tournament semifinals versus Duke

The Miami baseball team is two wins away from an improbable run to an ACC Championship when they play Duke in the conference tournament semifinals on Saturday in Charlotte.

By Alan Rubenstein

May 23, 2024; Charlotte, NC, USA; Miami (FL) Hurricanes infielder Antonio Jimenez (13) celebrates after a three run homer against the Clemson Tigers in the second inning during the ACC Baseball Tournament at Truist Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kinser-USA TODAY Sports
May 23, 2024; Charlotte, NC, USA; Miami (FL) Hurricanes infielder Antonio Jimenez (13) celebrates after a three run homer against the Clemson Tigers in the second inning during the ACC Baseball Tournament at Truist Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kinser-USA TODAY Sports / Scott Kinser-USA TODAY Sports
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After winning Pool B with victories over second-seeded Clemson and seventh-seeded Louisville, 11th-seeded Miami will play sixth-seed Duke in the ACC Tournament semifinals on Saturday in Charlotte. Florida State won on Friday and will play Wake Forest in the first semifinal on Friday at Truist Park.

Miami beat Louisville 8-5 in the first game of the 2024 ACC Tournament on Tuesday and cliched their berth in the semifinals with an 8-7 victory over Clemson on Thursday. Duke beat 10th-seed Virginia Tech 10-8 on Tuesday and beat third-seed North Carolina State 8-1 on Thursday to earn its semifinal berth.

Miami was swept by Duke this season in three consecutive one run losses. Duke had walk-off wins in the first and third games of the series versus Miami in April. In the second game of the series, Duke scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning after Miami rallied from a 4-0 deficit.

The Miami bullpen imploded in the third game versus Duke. Herick Hernandez who will likely start on Saturday, pitched six innings, allowing five hits, one run, one earned with one walk and 10 strikeouts before giving a 4-1 lead over to the bullpen. Miami extended the lead to 7-1 heading to the bottom of the eighth inning.

The Miami bullpen allowed six runs in the bottom of the eighth as Duke tied the score at seven. After Miami scored three runs in the top of the 11th, Duke answered with four to win the game 11-10. Miami needs another good start by Hernandez and the bullpen to keep them in the game.

Miami leads the all-time series with Duke 45-17 with a 41-14 lead in conference games. The Hurricanes have won two out of their three games in the all-time series at neutral sites. The sweep by Duke this season was the first by the Blue Devils over Miami in the all-time series that dates back to 1966.

Duke wins with their pitching. The Blue Devils are third in the ACC with a 4.63 ERA. Clemson was second in the ACC with a 4.47 era. Miami won two out of three this season versus North Carolina who led the ACC with a 4.21 ERA. Duke was third in the conference with 100 home runs.

Next. Miami holds on versus Clemson advancing to ACC Tournament semifinals. Miami holds on versus Clemson advancing to ACC Tournament semifinals. dark

Miami needs third-baseman Daniel Cuvet to stay hot. Cuvet has three HRs and 11 RBIs in his last three games. Cuvet had two HRs and six RBIs in the ACC Tournament opener versus Louisville and a two-RBI double against Clemson. Cuvet tied for fifth in the ACC during the regular season with 21 HRs.