Hurricanes Baseball Topples Fourth Top-25 Opponent this Season

The 16th-ranked Miami Hurricanes scored in four of the final seven innings, while rallying to defeat the 21st-ranked Louisville Cardinals, 10-7, at Jim Patterson Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Miami was behind by four runs after the first two innings but they never gave up and ultimately answered the call.

“I think it’s our biggest win of the year, we don’t have a third starter right now, so we had to match guys up. We were down four runs and they might’ve had the best pitcher in the conference on the mound today. Our offense did a great job to keep battling, get him out of there, score runs in bunches and put pressure on them,” Miami head coach Gino DiMare said.

Junior Carlos Perez ignited the comeback for the ‘Cardiac Canes’ with a home run in the third. Freshman sensation Blake Cyr would follow that up with a two-run double, cutting the deficit to within one.

During the fourth inning, junior first baseman and LifeWallet athlete CJ Kayfus connected on a double up the middle, plating two of his teammates to give the Hurricanes the lead, 5-4.

“The game is never over, there’s no time limit in baseball and anything can happen, especially with the guys that we have. That moment was a huge momentum changer for the team,” CJ Kayfus said.

Sophomore Edgardo Villegas would join the comeback party tallying another run for Miami, when he reached on a fielder’s choice to give the Hurricanes six unanswered runs.

The Cardinals would not lay down after losing the lead, they added two runs of their own in the bottom half of the fourth inning, knotting up the game at 6-6, but that was not going to stop Miami.

CJ Kayfus would come right back with another momentous play for the Hurricanes, bringing in his third run of the game with a base knock to put Miami back on top, 7-6.

Sophomore Dorian Gonzalez Jr. and junior Dominic Pitelli added three runs in the eighth inning, giving Miami enough of a buffer and plenty of room for Miami closer and LifeWallet athlete Andrew Walters to put the game on ice.

Walters recorded the final six outs to secure the fourth top-25 series win of the season for the Hurricanes baseball team.

“Winning on the road against a team like this will only help our chances in terms of rankings and RPI. When we get down to the end of the season, all this stuff matters. Most importantly, we still have to play well and finish the season,” Miami head coach Gino DiMare said.

Senior right-handed pitcher Carlos Lequerica earned his fourth win of the season in relief, throwing for a season-high 3 1/3 scoreless frames. Lequerica struck out five of 11 batters he went up against.

“I threw with confidence and conviction, I pounded the zone and trusted my defense. This is a win that shows our grit. It’s a part of our DNA and culture. We always fight until the end,” Lequerica said.

A bit of history was made during the victory, junior third baseman and LifeWallet athlete Yohandy Morales would surpass the 200-career hit mark. Morales is the first Hurricane to accomplish such feat since Zack Collins during the 2015-2016 season.

“It’s unchartered territory, there aren’t a lot of guys who have that many hits. That right there tells you all you need to know about how good he is. It’s just a testament to who he is,” Miami head coach Gino DiMare said.

Miami remains only one game behind the Duke Blue Devils for first place in the ACC Coastal division, the two teams will matchup at the end of the regular season in May.

Miami will now return home from their road trip to face off against Presbyterian. The three-game series is set to begin at 7:00 P.M. EST on Friday at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field. The game will be broadcast on the ESPN+ app.