Recap:

Game 1: Canes 3 - Rutgers 0 (Overall Record: 1-0)

The Canes came out with a strong pitching a defensive performance on Friday night at the Light. Jesse Lepore had a dominating performance throwing six complete innings and getting the win. He gave up zero runs, struck out seven, walked nobody (that’s an awesome stat for six innings) and only gave up two hits. With this win, Lepore is now 10-0 all-time as a Miami Hurricane. The bullpen looked great too. We were able to see some guys like Cabezas work their way out of jams. Defensively, the Canes were stout as well not making any errors which kept the Rutgers’ baserunners to a minimum. As expected, the Canes offense was quiet for most of the game. A two-run home run gave the Canes a lead in the third but that was really the only highlight from the night. The Canes only had four hits all night which can be expected on opening night. Game one was an overall solid win for the ball club.

PROS: Pitchers (Starters and Relievers) and Defense (No Errors)

CONS: Offense (Canes only had three runs on four hits)

Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

Game 2: Canes 8 - Rutgers 4 (Overall Record: 2-0)

The Canes came out with a much better offensive performance in Game two scoring eight runs on eight hits. Carl Chester went 2-3 with a walk and also scored twice. He went 0-4 in game one so this was a great day at the plate for him. Short-stop Brandon Gali had another two-hit game and outfielder Michael Burns picked up two hits as well. Offensively, these are the kind of games the Canes are going to need to have to win ACC series this year. Starting pitcher, Jeb Bargfeldt, threw 5.2 innings, struck out five, walked two and only gave up two earned runs in his first start as a Miami Hurricane. Bargfeldt had a pretty solid game besides that two-run third. As an experienced pitcher, expect Bargfeldt to get better every game he throws. Defensively, the Canes had a decent game only committing one error.

PROS: Offense (Scored eight runs)

CONS: The bullpen (Gave up a two-run bomb in the ninth. NOT OKAY).

Honorable Mention: Jeb Bargfeldt (Solid first outing) and defense (only 1 error).

Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports

Game 3: Rutgers 17 - Canes 6 (Overall Record: 2-1)

I really don’t even want to give you a recap of this game because I don’t think it defines who we are as a ball club. I would rather we all just forget game three of this series never happened but I have to give you at least a little bit of a recap. Our defense went from having two great games to start the season to looking absolutely atrocious. The Canes had six errors in game three. Yes, you read that right, SIX! Starting pitcher, Michael Mediavilla, only threw 3.1 innings before Morris had to go to the bullpen. As I’m sure you can imagine, that is not ideal for a starting pitcher. As a whole, Canes’ pitching gave up SIXTEEN hits to Rutgers team who only had twelve hits combined in game 1 and 2. Offensively, the Canes were decent scoring six runs on eight hits. On a day where the pitching and defense don’t drop the ball (pun intended), this offensive outing might get the Canes a win. Overall, this was a game was horrible all around for anyone associated with Miami Baseball and let’s all hope it never happens again.

PROS: Scoreboard operator (quite busy today)

CONS: Defense (six errors) and Pitching (17 runs on 16 hits)

Honorable Mention: Offense (6 runs on 8 hits)

Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

Conclusion:

Assuming game 3 of this series is an outlier and the Canes won’t let that happen again, I thought the first series of the weekend was above average. It is always good to start the year off with a series win. Do I think we should have swept a team like Rutgers? Absolutely. But oh well, we move on. A series win gives your team momentum going into the next one which is a positive out of all of this. In game one and game two we saw two impressive starters show their stuff. If those two can maintain that and remain consistent, I like our chances in game one and two of all of our series this year. I’m hoping today was a fluke outing for Mediavilla and he comes out with a chip on his shoulder next time around. That will take him hitting his spots and regaining his trust in the defense. Errors always throw a pitcher off his game so today’s results were not surprising. I liked what we did offensively all weekend long. The bats seemed to work for multiple players in the line-up which is great to see. The Florida International game on Wednesday just became more important. The Canes need a dominant win against Panthers before going to Gainesville to face the undefeated Gators.