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Miami showcased a clear dichotomy in today’s doubleheader, where one team continues to search for its footing in this game we call baseball. In game one, the offense struggled to make any impact after Tanner Smith’s home run in the second inning, managing only one hit until the seventh, and finishing strongly in the final two innings with five runs. With a total of ten hits in game one, the other Miami team that we all know so well had just three hits and no runs to show through seven innings. Trailing 7-0 at that point, they did show a minor spark with a Gaby home run with a man on base for their only score. They ended the game with a trio of strikeouts, splitting the series and waiting for Sunday to determine which team is worse of the two.
Pitching is an entirely different story. Griffin Hugus was once again stellar on the mound, going 6.2 innings while allowing just one unearned run that occurred in the initial inning, set up by an attempted pickoff at first. Pitt remained without a run until the 7th, managing only two hits in the process. On his 107th and final pitch, with two outs and a count of 3-2, Hugus delivers a double that scores two. Miami responded with five unanswered runs over the next two innings. Trailing 9-3 into their final at-bats, Pitt picked up a run, possibly serving as motivation for game two.
AJ Ciscar earned the starting role for game two and, similar to Griffin, executed a very good performance, yielding just one hit and one walk, both in the 2nd inning, over the course of 5 innings. Nonetheless, he encountered significant challenges, including four hit batters. Pitt struck first in the second inning by taking advantage of the aforementioned walk and hit to score a run. What should have concluded with a double play instead resulted in an E6, loading the bases. A 6-4 ground out permitted the Panthers to score their second run (unearned). Following the fourth hit batter to open the 6th inning and a subsequent second hit by Pitt, a crucial pitching change shifted the game’s momentum. Three pitching changes ultimately resulted in 5 runs, with two derived from BL walks, all on just three hits. The bullpen’s performance was nothing short of a total collapse.
Miami had offensive issues in both games, particularly in game two. Miami looked its best in the second inning of game one with three consecutive hits to load the bases, followed by Tanner Smith’s grand slam home run. Although the bats were alive in the second inning, Miami would not see another hit until the sixth inning. The eighth saw a resurgence from the Miami bats with a trio of doubles(Derek, Dorian, and Tanner)for three runs, adding two more runs in the ninth, but ending on a sour note by striking out three times with the bases loaded. They were just 1-6 with bases loaded
Despite limiting Pitt to just four hits in game two, Miami’s offense didn’t score any runs until the eighth inning, by which point the game was already out of reach. Miami recorded its first hit in the fourth inning, a lead-off single by Jake Ogden. Half of Miami’s hits occurred in the eighth, with a total of four hits, highlighted by Gaby’s two-run home run over the center field wall. Like game one, game two ended on a disappointing note after Derek led off the inning with a double, followed by three consecutive strikeouts. Miami went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position, striking out nine times, which adds to the eleven strikeouts from game one.
Game three is scheduled for Sunday at 3:00 PM, weather permitting. The starting pitcher has yet to be determined. It seems JD has opted to move Brian Walters to the closer role. He pitched only one inning in game one, throwing just eight pitches and retiring the three batters he faced. Therefore, given the stakes of the series, JD might choose to start with Brian. Otherwise, I fear JD may decide to return to Nick Robert. This is a critical series for both teams as they are battling the Irish for the bottom slot in the ACC.
