The Hurricanes completed the 2-game sweep against the Maine Black Bears with a 7-2 victory on Wednesday night.

The ‘Canes move to 8-9 (2-1 ACC) on the year.

In the bottom of the second the Hurricanes scored two runs off five straight walks. Maine struggled with control all night, and this was a major highlight of that.

The Hurricanes struck again in the bottom of the third, when Romy Gonzalez reached to lead off the inning, and moved to third after an attempted steal with an error on the catcher. Michael Burns then drove him in with a RBI single.

In the bottom of the fifth Miami added another run of insurance to the board. Randy Batista led off with a walk, and Barry Buchowski followed that up with a single through the left side. Chris Barr then laid down a great bunt to load the bases for James Davison, who hit into a fielder’s choice that plated Batista. With runners on the corners a passed ball for Maine made the game 5-0 in favor of the Hurricanes.

In the top of the seventh Maine put together a couple of singles that put runners on the corners, and they put their first run on the board with a RBI groundout. At the end of the frame Miami led 5-1.

Once again in the top of the eighth Maine put together a few hits to drive in a run, but Jim Morris made a call to the bullpen for Frankie Bartow. Bartow shut Maine’s bats down, and stranded two. After the top half of the eighth Miami’s lead was 5-2.

In the bottom of the eighth Romy Gonzalez hit a nice double, which extended his hitting streak to five games. He then took third on a deep sac-fly, and a RBI single from Edgar Michelangeli drove him in. Randy Batista then hit another RBI single to make the game 7-2 in favor of UM.

Frankie then closed the game out quick in the top of the ninth, and Miami won 7-2.

Greg Veliz pitched outstanding in the game, allowing only one hit. He struggled with control early, but settled in and was dominant over the Maine bats.

The Hurricanes didn’t play their best baseball in this series, but they came out with the sweep, and hopefully that momentum carries into this weekend.

Game Stats:

Winning Pitcher: Greg Veliz (1-1, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 6 K, 5.0 IP)

Losing Pitcher: Chris Murphy (0-2, 1 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 7 BB, 1 K, 2.0 IP)

Save: Frankie Bartow (4)

Box Score:

Next Game:

@NC State, Friday, March 17, 6:30 P.M Eastern

Hurricanes Starter: Jesse Lepore (1-2, 3.33 ERA)

Radio: WVUM 90.5

Television: ACC Network Extra