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Miami has advanced to the Hattiesburg Regional Finals by decisively defeating the Columbia Lions 14-1. Starter Griffin Hugus delivered a standout performance, which was complemented by Miami’s impressive offense, which racked up a remarkable 16 hits throughout the game.
Griffin Hugus delivered an outstanding performance on the mound, pitching a complete game and throwing 122 pitches. He struck out nine batters while allowing only one walk. The sole run came in the 4th inning when Anton Lazits launched a lead-off home run. After the 6th inning, he restricted the Colombian hitters to just one walk.
The Miami bats were firing on all cylinders tonight, showing no signs of slowing down, which has been their trademark all season. Every one of the starting nine delivered tonight, except for Renzo Gonzalez, who went 0-for-4. The top half of the batting order was relentless against the Colombian pitchers, accounting for 10 of the 16 hits and 12 of the 14 runs. Leading the pack was Dorian Gonzalez, who had an impressive 8 RBIs from a pair of home runs, one of which was a grand slam in the 7th inning. Both Max Galvin and Daniel Cuvet contributed three hits each, with Max falling just short of a triple to complete the cycle. Jake, the only one of the Fab Four without an RBI, kept the momentum going with his two hits. From the bottom of the order, Fabio Peralta had a pair of doubles, and Michael Torres added two hits, marking this night as one of the best performances of the year for the Miami sluggers.
Like last night, Miami wasted no time establishing its presence by leading off with five consecutive hits and three quick runs. A wild pitch before the final out added a fourth run. Unlike last night, the bats didn’t take a night off; they continued their onslaught, scoring 4 runs in both the 4th and 7th innings. Dorian Gonzalez led the way in both innings with a three-run homer in the 4th and a grand slam in the 7th. The Colombian pitchers thought they would have it easier pitching to Dorian instead of Daniel, whom they intentionally walked, but Dorian had a different perspective, hitting 385 feet on the first home run and 401 feet on the grand slam. In the 6th inning, Max kept delivering with his second home run of the Regionals. The Canes finally slowed down in the 8th, with Michael Torres putting the final nail in the marathon night with an RBI single.
Miami eagerly awaits the outcome of the rematch between Southern Mississippi and Columbia. Tate DeRias has been chosen to help us avoid playing on Monday to decide who moves forward and who heads home for summer ball. It has been since 2016 that we last reached the Super Regionals, a year when we also made a trip to the Promised Land—Omaha. The first pitch is scheduled for 7PM
