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Miami secured its first ACC series win in dynamic fashion. In his first career start, freshman Tate DeRias delivered a stellar performance, pitching five solid innings and allowing just one unearned run in the first inning. Weather conditions were not ideal, with the temperature starting at 37 degrees and precipitation in the air. After a swift three-up/three-down start in the first, the Miami bats exploded for 14 unanswered runs on 15 hits, scoring crooked numbers in five of the next six innings, which set up a 10-run rule scenario going into the bottom of the seventh, leading 14-1. The Panthers would not go down easily as they battled back with three runs. With the bases loaded and two outs, Carson Fischer was brought in to relieve Alex Giroux and finish the job. Finish the job he did with just three pitches, all strikes, as Miami celebrated their first Conference series with a Mercy Rule win of 14-4.
Despite nerves, weather, or both, Tate unraveled, carelessly throwing a ball away on a bunt single back to him, allowing a runner to take second base with one out. Errors inevitably generate runs; just two batters later, a single sliced through the right side, bringing the runner home from second. This unearned run marked the Panthers’ sole score until the seventh inning. However, the defensive play of the game came at the end of the first, when a double to left field provoked a remarkable relay throw—from left to short to home, preventing a second run from crossing the plate. This would be the peak of Panther offense until the seventh, where they trailed by thirteen runs and faced the threat of a Mercy Rule ending.
For the Canes, the second inning marked the Great Awakening. Fourteen unanswered runs came as every batter in the starting nine went on a hitting rampage with a total of 15 hits. Three players had multiple hits: Cuvet, Williams, and D. Gonzalez. There were a pair of home runs in the 3rd and 6th innings by D. Gonzalez and Bobby Marsh. The Panthers suffered a crushing blow in the 5th, a bases-clearing triple by Daniel.
Miami tied the score in the second with a sacrifice fly to left field by Bobbie Marsh. Following the sacrifice fly, Miami reloaded the bases with a single by Marsh and two walks, but a ground out to first base by Jake prevented any further scoring, resulting in it being the only uncrooked number scored in the next four innings.
In the third inning, Daniel delivered a one-out double, setting the stage for Williams to drive him home with an RBI single. With a runner on base, Dorian crushed a powerful shot to the parking garage in right field, traveling 422 feet, extending the lead to 4-1.
In the 4th inning, the team returned to small ball, achieving three consecutive singles from Hudson, Ogden, and Peralta, the latter scoring an RBI. Daniel’s sacrifice fly boosted the score to 6-1.
The 5th inning crushed any hopes the Panthers had for a comeback, sealing their fate in the game. Two runs had already crossed the plate on a pair of singles, two hit batters, and a walk when Daniel stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded. He hits a low liner to center, where the center fielder attempted a diving catch, but it got by him for a bases-clearing triple. For whatever reason, Daniel tries to make it an inside-the-park home run but runs out of gas before reaching home plate. Still, Miami almost doubles their score, adding five more runs to bring it to 11-1.
The bats refused to become silent after the taste of finally making solid contact with the ball. In one finalizing finish, Derek and Dorian with back-to-back doubles capped off with a Bobby Marsh homer to right, adding three more runs to the already 11 in mind-boggling runaway.
The Panthers weren’t going to be caged without one last fight. Alex, still on the bump after relieving Tate to start the 6th, suffered the same fate as Tate in the first. Dropping the ball on a routine ground out 3-1 opened the door for the Panthers to strike back from a 13-run deficit, facing having the game called at the end of the inning if they couldn’t get below the 10-run ruling. A double, single (RBI), hit batter (BL), walk (RBI), and single (RBI) brought them within 10 runs and loaded the bases before JD woke up from his nap, decided enough was enough, and made the call to the bullpen, bringing in Carson Fischer. Carson, having no desire to stay out in the cold temperatures, made quick work of it, needing just three pitches to strike out the final Panther swinging.
Whether today was an awakening or just a flash in the pan remains to be seen in returning to their inconsistencies. It provided us with our Sunday starter, who delivered a brilliant performance. We still lack a midweek starter, but it seems that Brian will take on the role as closer, just as his brother once did. Regardless of what the future holds, today was a day of celebration with the series victory and an unprecedented display of hitting power. Achieving a team-high batting average of .465 speaks for itself, with only three strikeouts. Both Williams and D. Gonzalez had stellar 3-for-4 days, with Dorian just missing a triple to complete the cycle. Today, it was a complete team effort, with everyone contributing to the 14-4 victory. Hopefully, with this fresh taste in their mouths, they will be able to maintain this momentum next week against Bethune-Cookman and, more importantly, against Duke. We need to start winning our midweek games, which hurt us last year in reaching postseason play. Wednesday’s game is set for 6:00pm.
