After an 8-7 walkoff win on Friday night, the Miami baseball team outscored NJIT 35-2 in a Saturday doubleheader before Sunday's game was rained out, allowing the Hurricanes to sweep the three-game series. The weekend was a success for first-year head coach J.D. Arteaga.
Miami begins the season 3-0 for the first time since starting the season with six straight wins in 2022. The Hurricanes got off to a great start on Friday night with runs in the first three innings to lead 5-0. NJIT answered with four in the fourth and three in the fifth to take a 7-5 lead. Neither team scored in the sixth inning.
Miami answered with two runs in the bottom of the seventh and one in the ninth to win the game on Friday night. Four Miami players had two hits on Friday night. Catcher Carlos Perez had a walk-off single with one out in the ninth inning for the game-winning RBI. New closer Drew Dryer won the game in relief.
Gage Ziehl struggled for the second year in a row in the season opener. Ziehl lasted 4.2 innings, allowing seven runs, all earned on seven hits, with two walks, seven strikeouts, a wild pitch and a hit batter. It took Ziehl until his fourth start of last season to produce a quality outing. The Miami bullpen was stellar over 4.1 innings.
Doubleheader Sweep 🧹🧹🧹 pic.twitter.com/kvEgMYGv3d
— Miami Hurricanes Baseball (@CanesBaseball) February 18, 2024
After falling behind 1-0 in the first game on Saturday, Miami made sure the game would not be close. The Hurricanes scored six in the first inning and two each over the next four to lead 14-1 after five innings. Miami added four in the seventh and one in the eighth before allowing one in the ninth in a 19-2 win.
Daniel Cuvet and Jason Torres each had four hits and scored four runs in game one on Saturday. Torres added five RBIs. Rafe Schlessinger pitched five innings, allowing five hits, one run, one earned, with one walk and nine strikeouts. Slaide Naturman and JT Caruso each pitched two innings in relief of Schlessinger.
Miami continued their domination in game two of the doubleheader on Saturday. The Hurricanes scored three in the second, two in the fourth, one in the fifth, two in the sixth and four each in the seventh and eighth innings in a 16-0 win. Cuvet and Torres added three hits each in the second game on Sunday.
Cuvet had five RBIs in the second game, including an eighth-inning grand slam. Lucas Costello had two hits and four RBIs for Miami. Herick Hernandez pitched six innings, allowing only three walks, with no hits and 10 strikeouts. The no-hitter lasted until there was one out in the seventh inning.
The weekend series was the first of 15 consecutive games at home for Miami to begin the season. Miami plays its first 20 games in 2024 in South Florida. Miami doesn't leave South Florida until a three-game series at Notre Dame beginning on March 22. Central Florida comes to Coral Gables on Wednesday in Miami's next game.