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The Hurricanes took 2 of 3 from the Bethune Cookman Wildcats over the weekend, but the loss to BCU might just spell the end for UM’s chances of a NCAA Tournament appearance.
Game 1 Recap Here:
.@CanesBaseball 6, @BCUDiamondCats 5: #Canes Win in Dramatic Fashion https://t.co/jrgTWbFNEr pic.twitter.com/rpOeqzPIfl
— StateOfTheU.com (@TheStateOfTheU) May 6, 2017
Game 2: BCU 7, Miami 3
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Miami fell to visiting Bethune-Cookman, 7-3, Saturday night in Game 2 of a weekend series at Mark Light Field.
The loss snapped an eight-game winning streak over Bethune-Cookman that dated to 2014 and set up a rubber match to be played Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Hurricanes (23-23) were stifled by Wildcats pitcher Tyler Norris, who tossed 6.1 strong innings.
Though he walked five batters, the righthander allowed just two hits and two runs across 90 pitches.
Miami's first hit did not come until a two-out single by redshirt senior Christopher Barr in the fifth.
The Wildcats (27-22) tagged Miami lefthander Michael Mediavilla for five runs in 2.2 innings, taking advantage of two early errors. Only one of the five runs charged to Mediavilla (4-5) was earned.
Junior Jesse Lepore tossed 5.1 innings of relief. The big righthander was impressive in the performance, allowing just two runs with five strikeouts and one walk.
With two outs and two runners on base in the second, Josten Heron hit a chopper to first that Barr could not handle, plating a run from second.
In the next inning, the Wildcats loaded the bases on three straight singles. After a sacrifice fly from Austin Garcia doubled the Bethune-Cookman lead to 2-0, another fielding error made it 3-0.
A two-run double then dropped in right-center to push the deficit to 5-0, signaling the end of Mediavilla's night.
Trailing 6-0 in the fifth, the Hurricanes loaded the bases on a walk, single and hit batter.
Senior Joe Gomez connected on a two-out, two-RBI single to shallow center to make it 6-2, but Norris (6-1) induced an inning-ending flyout to minimize the damage.
The two teams traded runs in the eighth inning on RBI singles from Jameel Edney and Romy Gonzalez.
The Hurricanes and Wildcats return to Mark Light Field Sunday for the series finale. First pitch for the contest, slated for broadcast on ACC Network Extra, 560 WQAM and WVUM 90.5 FM, is set for 1 p.m.
Box Score:
Game 3: Miami 7, BCU 3
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Freshman Greg Veliz delivered a dominant start on the hill, senior Johnny Ruiz hit his third home run of the season, and Miami captured another series victory with a 7-1 win over Bethune-Cookman Sunday.
Making his second official start as a member of the weekend rotation, Veliz (4-3) tilted the rubber match in Miami's favor with six strong innings.
The Key West, Fla., native struck out six batters, allowed just two hits, and helped Miami pick up its fourth series win in the last five weekends in front of 2,433 fans.
Including a split of a weather-shortened two-game set against Florida State in late April, Miami (24-23) has not lost a series in the second half of the season.
Ruiz provided all the offense the Hurricanes needed with a two-run blast in the third inning.
With the game tied 1-1, the senior captain crushed a 2-2 pitch from Bethune-Cookman righthander Tyler Krull well over the fence in right-center to end the sophomore pitcher's outing early.
Krull (5-2) allowed four hits and three runs in 2.0+ innings. He walked two and faced just 11 batters before being removed in favor of Donte Lindsay.
Junior Hunter Tackett opened the scoring in the bottom of the first with a sacrifice fly that plated junior James Davison, who singled to open the inning.
The Wildcats (27-23) tied the game in the third on one of Veliz' only mistakes on the day – a two-out RBI double by Demetrius Sims off the wall in right.
Though the Ruiz homer helped Miami regain a lead in the home half of the same frame, the Wildcats looked poised to cut into the 3-1 deficit when Jameel Edney was hit by a pitch and slugger Danny Rodriguez singled to put two runners on with no outs in the fourth.
Veliz buckled down, however, striking out Austin Garcia and inducing an inning-ending double play to keep the Hurricanes ahead.
The talented righthander, who went at least five innings for the eighth straight start, fanned at least one Wildcat in each of his first five innings and threw 96 pitches.
The Hurricanes plated four insurance runs over their final three trips to the plate to seal the win.
With his team already leading 3-1, sophomore Romy Gonzalez connected an RBI single in the sixth off B-CU reliever Joseph Calamita to make it 4-1.
An inning later, senior Joe Gomez pushed Miami's lead to 5-1 with an RBI single that scored junior Carl Chester. Gomez scored on a throwing error charged to Wildcats catcher Jordan Stacy in an attempt to get Davison stealing.
Junior Michael Burns capped the game's scoring with an RBI double in the eighth.
Davison tied a career high with three hits (3-for-4), scored two runs and stole two bases.
Sophomore Andrew Cabezas struck out four batters in two innings of relief, while junior Cooper Hammond, making his first appearance on the mound at Mark Light Field since March 2016, pitched a scoreless ninth.
The Wildcats threatened in the eighth, loading the bases on a walk and back-to-back singles. But Cabezas struck out two straight hitters and induced a fielder's choice to end the threat.
The Hurricanes return to Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field Wednesday for a midweek game against UCF. First pitch for the contest, slated for broadcast on ACC Network Extra and WVUM 90.5 FM, is set for 7