The Canes’ baseball team hit the road this week after a hot start at home. Miami was riding a seven-game win streak and seemed to have things rolling coming into the week, but it was not a kind in-state trip for UM. After losing a tough midweek battle in Boca Raton to FAU, the Canes continued up the state to Gainesville to take on the Florida Gators in a three-game series. Miami struggled mightily to get things going against a very good UF team and was sent home to Coral Gables licking their wounds after a series loss to the Gators.
Game one of the series on Friday night started with a bang when LifeWallet athlete Yohandy Morales hit a three-run homerun in the top of the first to put the Canes up early. This turned out to be the only bright spot for UM in the series opener as the Gators went on to outscore Miami 10-1 on their way to a decisive 10-4 win. UF dominated with the long ball as they took the Miami pitching staff deep four times, led by left fielder Wyatt Langford. Langford went 3 for 5 with two homeruns to help the Gators send a message and take the series lead.
The roles reversed on Saturday night when the Canes battled back to even the series at one game each. UF appeared to be en route to another dominating win by jumping out to a 6-1 lead through 5 innings. The Miami offense got a spark in the sixth inning from a two-run homerun by Blake Cyr which ignited fireworks from the Canes’ bats. Miami added another three runs in the seventh inning to tie it up at six before exploding for eight runs over the last two innings. This offensive onslaught was capped off by Blake Cyr’s second home run of the night as his seven RBI performance helped the Canes blow out the Gators 14-6 and tie the series up heading into the Sunday matchup.
The Gators’ offense started hot in the first inning on Sunday to the tune of four runs produced by three RBI singles and some impressive small ball. The first two games of the series featured big time comebacks, but UF made sure that would not be the case on Sunday. A second inning grand slam by BT Riopelle doubled the lead to 8-0 and the Gators never looked back. Miami tried to claw back into the game and cut the lead to 9-4 before a five-run eighth inning ended the game via the mercy rule. The game ended with controversy that both teams will surely have in the back of their heads when these teams face off in the future. Ty Evans homerun in the bottom of the eighth ended the game and he thoroughly enjoyed his trot around the bases. Evans waived the Miami fans and players home as he rounded third base before throwing up “The U” and breaking it over his knee as he stepped on home plate.
It was a disappointing performance for a Canes’ team that looked to be clicking early on prior to this road trip. Luckily for Miami, they’ll be back in Coral Gables and looking to improve their 7-1 home record on Wednesday against Jacksonville. It will be a big game for the Canes to get back on track before NC State comes to town for a three game ACC showdown at Mark Light Field.