HASTA LUEGO. Four times today, park clearing HRs accounted for 5 of the Miami 8 runs, propelling the revitalized Canes to an 8-6 series win. It was an air show performance, backed by stellar relief pitching from Will Smith and Closer Brian Walters, lifting the Canes to their second consecutive ACC series win, moving them into the third tier of the ACC standings.

Today’s lineup saw the absence of Derick Williams, who injured his hand in yesterday’s game and will be x-rayed tomorrow to determine the extent of the damage and whether it will result in a prolonged absence from the lineup. His batting is crucial, as he leads the team in home runs and doubles, and we pray that this does not turn into a season-ending injury. I don’t understand JD’s logic in putting two sub-par hitters batting below .200 in the lineup. The outdated approach of matching hitters with pitchers must come to an end. You need the best players on the field. Michael Torres is a skilled fielder, yet he continues to struggle against college pitching. Opting for Evan Taveras as our designated hitter over Bobby Marsh is questionable. Yes, Evan hit one of the four home runs today, which was his sole hit, but he also struck out twice. Meanwhile, Michael Torres delivered yet another hitless performance. While I acknowledge Evan’s hitting capability, I firmly believe that Bobby should be the one swinging the bat, no matter the circumstances.

In a game filled with momentum shifts, Duke made the first statement. Like Griffin on Friday, Tate found himself in a difficult position with a pitch count of 25 at the end of the first inning, with Miami trailing 2-0 after a two-run home run. Tate settled down, permitting only a walk in the second inning and a single in the fourth before Miami managed to chip away at the score in the fourth with Daniel Cuvet’s sixth home run of the year, his second in two days. In the play leading up to Daniel’s HR, it could have been detrimental to the final outcome, which, fortunately, it was not. However, this is worth mentioning. Jake leads off with a single. Fabio lays down a sacrifice bunt, advancing Jake to second, where he decides to stretch it to third, believing Duke’s defense had lowered its guard. He is thrown out at third; had he stayed at second, it would have tied the score at two instead of trailing by one.

Duke, maintaining a one-run lead into the 5th, saw a pitching change after Tate gave up a lead-off single. He managed to get the next two batters out before hitting Tyler Albright on his 82nd pitch, prompting JD to come out of the dugout for a pitching change, bringing in Carson Fischer. With runners on first and second, Jake Hyde hits a triple that gets past Torres in center, extending the lead to 4-1.

The 5th inning was the turning point of the game for Miami. Trailing by three runs, the Miami offense surged, sending Duke’s starting pitcher to the bench after the first five batters reached base safely. Dorian ignited the rally with a solid single, followed by Evan, whose line drive homer to left cut the deficit to just one run. With the bases cleared, Miami swiftly reloaded, establishing a new baseload through a walk, a single, and another walk.

With the bases loaded and no outs, a pitching change stirred anticipation. Despite some anxious moments when Jake struck out and Fabio popped out to second, the fans held their breath, witnessing what felt like a pivotal opportunity slipping away. Daniel stepped up to the plate to seize the moment and establish a commanding lead. After running the count to 1-2, Daniel delivered a game-changing double, clearing the bases and finally putting Miami in the lead for the first time, with a score of 6-4.

Duke refused to be denied with a two-run homer that tied the score at six. Fischer, who had given up four runs on two homers in two innings, prompted Miami to bring in Will Smith to halt Duke’s momentum. Miami fans witnessed the emergence of Will Smith as their setup pitcher. He stopped Duke in their tracks with a strikeout to end the sixth inning, dominating the hitters by retiring them in order and adding four strikeouts, including the inning-ending strikeout in the sixth.

In a fiercely contested game tied at six, Dorian electrified the crowd by leading off the bottom of the sixth with Miami’s third home run of the day, reclaiming the lead at 7-6. Will Smith decisively thwarted Duke’s rally attempts, demonstrating his dominance on the mound. In the eighth inning, Dorian struck again, smashing his second home run of the game and adding a crucial insurance run, creating a two-run buffer for Brian to secure the victory. Brian retired a bewildered Blue Devil team with just six pitches, sealing the series and marking Miami’s second consecutive ACC series win.

Crucial hitting by Daniel and Dorian played a significant role in today’s win over a determined Duke team, who, after Friday’s one-sided decision, tried in vain to recapture that momentum. Today’s four home runs, with Will and Brian holding off the charge, proved more than Duke was able to endure. Miami still has a long way to go, but this weekend’s come-from-behind series victory is definitely a step in the right direction. On Tuesday, they have a score to settle against FAU, narrowing winning from their last meeting to even the series. 6:00 PM will be the rubber match.

Miami bounced back from their humiliating loss yesterday, turning the page to even the series at one. They achieved this with a clutch hit in the 6th inning by Max Galvin, breaking the 4-4 deadlock. Miami’s closer, Brian Walter, delivered two solid innings without allowing a hit and struck out two, setting the stage for the tiebreaker tomorrow.

Miami needed to strike first and maintain a solid defense to secure victory. AJ Ciscar faced a significant challenge after Duke had dominated the previous game: he had to ensure they wouldn’t take an early charge. Help from his teammates was crucial to break their rut of failing to get the ball into play and start scoring runs. The team received clear marching orders and executed them well—except in the 4th inning when AJ’s performance dropped drastically. He went from throwing 29 pitches through the third inning with one hit yielded and no score, to 74 pitches in the fourth, leading to a collapse of the game plan. This resulted in three consecutive hits following a hit batter and a costly error, turning a 4-run lead into a nail-biting one-run advantage for Miami.

Miami was the first to strike in the second inning with Derek Williams’ eighth homer of the year, giving Miami its first run. They played aggressive baserunning, adding two more runs started by Dorian’s double, who proceeded to steal third base, and heads-up running by Max Galvin, who walked and then came all the way from first to score when he noticed the right fielder lack of attention after Todd Hudson’s single to right, giving Miami a commanding 3-0 lead. Daniel Cuvet kicked off the third inning with his impressive sixth home run of the season, extending Miami’s lead to 4-0 and keeping Duke scoreless.

Miami’s game plan was initially effective but unraveled in the fourth inning when a hit batter with one out triggered a chain reaction. Three consecutive singles followed, allowing Duke to score for the first time and loading the bases. A potential double play was thwarted due to Dorian’s mishandling of the ball, resulting in another run. The situation worsened for Miami when Jake made an error, narrowing the gap and bringing Duke within one run of Miami’s previously commanding four-run lead. JD hesitated too long to relieve AJ, watching his pitch count escalate from 29 to 74 before finally bringing in Alex Giroux, who had made a brief appearance the night before and hit back-to-back batters—first loading the bases and then conceding a run with the second. However, Alex redeemed himself tonight by striking out the batter and earning the win, though he would need help to do so.

Duke tied the score in the 5th, swinging the momentum in their favor, while Miami seemed to falter yet again. Miami received help in the 6th to swing the momentum back in their favor. Tanner Smith struck with a single to second base and advanced to second due to a costly throwing error by the second baseman. This misstep would prove detrimental, as errors typically do. Max Gavin stepped up next, seizing the first pitch and driving it through the middle to secure the go-ahead run.

Alex pitched the next two innings, allowing only a single before the call to the bullpen brought in our true Closer, Brian Walters, to start the 8th inning. The Duke hitters were unable to mount any sort of attack, with Brian keeping them hitless and allowing only a walk to secure the save, setting the stage for the rubber match tomorrow.

Offensively, a pair of home runs from Daniel Cuvet and Derek Williams and a key hit from Max Galvin ensured tonight’s win. Both Daniel and Max had multiple hits, and we did a better job of tying our hits together, with Todd Hudson getting a crucial single in the third and the heads-up running of Max Galvin in the second, along with his go-ahead single in the sixth were pivotal in shifting the momentum in the Cane’s favor.

Tonight’s win could not have been achieved without the quality of pitching. Unlike the eight pitchers in a losing effort Friday night, AJ and Brian, along with three quality innings by Alex, held Duke to five hits compared to the twelve yesterday, which is a testament to tonight’s key to victory.

Rubber match tomorrow at 1:00 PM with Tate DeRias in his second start. Unlike Duke today, Miami needs to build on what it achieved today to ensure a series win.

The Canes, after seemingly regaining their form in the last two games, faced a harsh reality check against the Duke Blue Devils, who decisively defeated them 13-3 in a one-sided contest. From the very first inning, the scene was grim as Duke’s batting lineup overwhelmed Griffin, scoring four runs after two outs. Hugus, clearly struggling in the initial inning, was unable to recover, throwing 33 pitches and resulting in a short outing. Miami briefly reduced the deficit in the third with a two-run blast from Max Galvin, his fourth of the season. The teams exchanged runs in the fourth inning, but disaster struck in the sixth, once again after two outs, when Duke sealed the game with a barrage that included six runs driven in by two home runs, one of which was a grand slam, along with four hits and two hit batsmen. Despite teetering on the edge of the run rule, the Canes managed to hold off the inevitable until the ninth inning, at which point the Blue Devils tacked on two more runs to push their lead to 13-3. The Canes exited the field after one of their worst performances this season, finishing with just three runs on five hits.

Griffin, who has been struggling lately to get out of the first inning, faced significant control issues tonight, more than in previous games. He hit two batters, including one with the bases loaded, contributing to the Blue Devils batting around and scoring four runs on five hits. Needing 33 pitches to escape deeper trouble, it was clear that if Griffin didn’t bring his A game—something he clearly failed to do—the Canes were in for a long night, which is exactly what occurred.

Miami’s offense, having shown potency in their last two outings, faltered against Duke’s pitching staff, managing only five hits. The sole highlight came in the third inning when Max Galvin launched his fourth home run of the season, coupled with an RBI single from Daniel. The fourth inning briefly sparked some offensive life with back-to-back hits from Dorian, who delivered a double, and Tanner, contributing an RBI single. Their fifth hit appeared in the ninth inning when Gaby loaded the bases. However, Evan Taveras’s 1-3 ground out decisively ended the night, showcasing a lackluster hitting performance and a pitching effort that involved cycling through eight pitchers in a desperate attempt to control the bleeding, which they were unable to do.

The chapter on tonight’s game is closed, and tomorrow we will write a new one. If the hitting fails to recover and the pitching does not take command, brace for another long, frustrating night. Duke’s defense this evening was exceptional, executing unbelievable plays consistently. Any decline in their performance could have tightened this game. Miami cannot afford to fall behind, and AJ Ciscar must bring his absolute best. The outcome of the opening inning will decisively shape how the rest of the game unfolds. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:00PM.