|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Daniel Cuvet delivers in the 10th inning with bases loaded, drilling a sharp liner down the third base line that gets past their third baseman, breaking the deadlock and clearing the bases. Alex Sosa follows with an RBI double, and Derek Williams caps the scoring with an RBI single for an insurance run. Miami, now holding a five-run lead, sees Ryan Bilka close it out by striking out a depleted Tiger team, securing an impressive victory in a crucial opening ACC series, 8-3.
All eight of Miami’s runs were scored with two outs, with errors playing a significant role on both sides. A total of six errors occurred—four by Miami, and the costly one in the 10th inning by Clemson proved to be the turning point. Five of Miami’s runs were unearned, compared to one unearned run by Clemson. Had it not been for Ryan Bilka’s clutch strikeout in the ninth with runners on second and third after a double error by Cuvet and Sheahan, tonight’s outcome would have had an entirely different ending.
Miami, already facing significant pitching challenges, lost its Friday night starter, AJ Ciscar, to a biceps injury. He might have limited relief appearances this weekend, though it’s unlikely. Ciscar chose to leave last weekend’s game when the injury began to affect his performance, which was not his best this season. Hopefully, this injury is temporary, as with only Rob Evans as our other true starter, it could greatly impact the season. Replacing Ciscar, Sebastian Santos-Olson pitched four scoreless innings before running into trouble in the fifth after giving up back-to-back hits—single, double—and JD Glidewell was called in. With Ciscar’s absence, Frank Menendez returned to the mound for the first time since Tommy John surgery. Nick Robert is expected to be activated from the injury list next month.
Miami jumped out to an early 3-0 lead before Clemson responded, tying the game in the 6th inning. The score stayed deadlocked through regulation before heading into extra innings. Miami got on the scoreboard first in the opening inning with two outs, as Alex Sosa drew a walk, and Williams and Sosa followed with consecutive hits. In the third inning, Miami extended its lead with doubles from Sosa and West, and Sheahan’s single through the right side.
Sebastian held the Tigers to just two hits over four innings, striking out four batters. After recording the first out in the fifth inning, back-to-back hits—a single and a double—prompted JD to make a pitching change, bringing in Lyndon Guidewell. A grounder to West that Guidewell covered first on but missed tagging the bag (E1) allowed Clemson’s first run as the runner scored from third. Clemson added two more runs in the sixth inning, with Miami fans witnessing Frank Menendez’s debut in a Miami uniform. Throwing over 95 MPH, Menendez struck out his first Tigers batter before a fielding error by West, and three consecutive singles tied the game for Clemson. Packy Bradley-Cooney was then brought in to prevent further damage after just 20 pitches.
With the score tied at three in the ninth inning, the tension increased with two outs and a runner on first due to a walk. A ground ball to third was mishandled by Cuvet (E5), but Sheahan recovered and threw over West’s (E6) head, allowing the winning run to advance to third. Ryan Bilka, who had replaced Packy in the eighth inning, proved his reliability as the team’s Closer by throwing three straight strikes and pushing the game into extra innings.
In the 10th inning, with bases loaded and two outs, Daniel Cuvet steps up to the plate. The count is 0-2 when Daniel hits a sharp ground ball down the third base line, which Tryston McCladdie can’t handle—deflecting off his glove into foul territory in left field. This enables all three runners to score, with Daniel reaching second. The call was disputed as an error. Even if the third baseman had fielded the ball cleanly, he likely wouldn’t have been able to make the play at first. Regardless, three runs scored instead of one because of the misplay. Clemson then made a pitching change, and Miami capitalized, adding two more runs on a double by Sosa and a single by Williams, giving Miami a comfortable five-run lead.
Holding onto a commanding 5-run lead, Ryan finalized the game with three strikeouts, securing victory in game one and a vital ACC win. Tomorrow, the ball is handed over to Rob Evans to clinch the series.
Brylan West stood out offensively with three hits, including a double and two RBIs, earning him the player of the game honors. Others who contributed multiple hits included Alex Sosa, who doubled twice, and Derek Williams, who also had two hits. Despite going 1-6, Daniel’s crucial bases-clearing error in the 10th inning shifted the game’s momentum. The bottom of Miami’s batting order struggled significantly, striking out ten times out of twelve total strikeouts: Sheahan (2), Copeland (1), Dubovik (4), and Peralta (3). Miami left 11 runners on base and finished 6-for-15 with runners in scoring position.
Game 2 of the series resumes tomorrow at 7 PM, with Rob Evans starting on the mound for the Canes.
