The Miami baseball team lost its sixth consecutive game on Sunday, as Duke swept the Hurricanes in a three-game series. Miami drops to 15-16 overall and 6-9 in the ACC. The Hurricanes have lost their last three series after beginning ACC play 4-2. Miami hosts Florida Atlantic on Wednesday.
Miami took a 7-1 lead on Sunday in the top of the eighth inning. Duke answered with a six-run eighth to tie the game. Miami regained the lead in the top of the 11th with runs batted in by Long, Daniel Cuvet and Jack Scanlon put Miami in front 10-7 in the top of the 11th. Duke rallied with four in the bottom of the 11th for the 11-10 win.
The Miami bullpen imploded twice on Sunday. Herick Hernandez had Miami control for most of the game. Hernandez pitched six innings, allowing five hits, one run, one earned, with one walk and 10 strikeouts. The Miami bullpen allowed 10 runs, nine earned in three innings. Miami did not record an out in the bottom of the 11th.
Long and Dorian Gonzalez led Miami with three hits each Sunday. Lorenzo Carrier had two hits and a home run in the series finale. Ben Miller had four hits and Andrew Stone had three for Duke on Sunday. Nick Conte was the winning pitcher for Duke.
Final. pic.twitter.com/koLbUKceOS
— Miami Hurricanes Baseball (@CanesBaseball) April 7, 2024
Miami entered the series against Duke with a three-game losing streak. Miami lost the final two games of its series to Clemson last weekend and at FAU on Tuesday. Miami was shut out in two games before the Duke series. Miami scored only five runs in the first two games of the three-game series versus Clemson.
After a back and forth game on Friday night, Miller delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 4-3 Duke win. That was the third consecutive win for Duke. Gageback-and-forth Ziehl kept Miami in the game during an eight-inning performance. Nick Robert took the loss, falling to 5-1.
Duke took a 4-0 lead on Saturday before Miami rallied with two runs in the sixth inning and two in the seventh to tie the game. Stone had the game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the seventh. Jacoby Long paced Miami on Saturday with three hits. A.J. Gracia had three hits for Duke on Saturday.
Miami could not generate any offense versus FAU. Five Hurricanes had one hit each. Brandon Smith pitched five innings for FAU, allowing three hits with three strikeouts. Four Miami pitchers held FAU to five hits. Timely hitting was the difference for the Owls. After hosting FAU on Wednesday, Miami is at Florida State next weekend.