Miami 5, Pitt 3: Brian Van Belle Tosses A Gem

Miami is 18-10 (5-7 ACC) after a series win over the Pittsburgh Panthers. The Hurricanes got a great start out of Brian Van Belle to propel them to the Sunday victory. It was good to see the pitching staff perform a little better after the dreadful games they had Friday and Saturday.

In the top of the first Miami took advantage of a few errors to score three runs. A single and a walk gave Miami two men on with two out with Ray Gil coming to the plate. Gil knocked a grounder to third, but a throwing error allowed both runners to score and put Gil on second. JP Gates followed Gil with a pop fly that dropped within the infield and allowed Gil to score. The Hurricanes hit one ball out of the infield in the first but managed to score three runs and gain an early lead.

Brian Van Belle used the early lead to gain confidence on the mound and attack hitters all afternoon. The Sunday starter threw six and one-third innings en route to a victory. He allowed just four hits and three runs, only two of which were earned.

After Pitt scored their first run of the game in the third, Miami added another run in the top of the fourth; Alex Toral doubled and was driven in by Anthony Vilar to make the score 4-1. After that, neither side scored until the seventh inning, when Pitt moved to within one run of the Hurricanes. A single and a hit by pitch gave Pitt two baserunners with no outs, and they both moved into scoring position with no outs on a wild pitch. After Van Belle struck out a batter for the first out in the inning Daniel Federman entered the game to try to limit the damage. Federman hit the first batter he faced, but responded by getting a groundout to third, but Ray Gil couldn’t make the play and an error allowed two runs to score. Fortunately, Federman got out of the inning on the very next pitch with a double play.

The Hurricanes got an insurance run in the eighth after a double, a single, and an RBI fielder’s choice. Federman shut down Pitt in the eighth and earned an out in the ninth before Greg Veliz came in to finish the game after Federman allowed a few men on base.

The Hurricanes recovered after a tough loss yesterday to earn a series win, but its’ hard not to be disappointed in Miami’s performance this weekend. Thankfully, the Hurricanes come back to Mark Light Field for five consecutive home games where they’ll hope to get on a streak of good play and return to the form they had at the start of the season.

Game Info

Winning Pitcher: Brian Van Belle (4-2, 6.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K)

Losing Pitcher: Billy Corcoran (2-2, 1.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K)

Save: Greg Veliz (3)

(Box Score posted when available)

Next Game

Mid-week Vs FAU

Date & Time: Wednesday, April 3, 6:00 P.M. Eastern

Hurricanes Starter: Slade Cecconi (4-1, 3.63 ERA)

FAU Starter: Hunter Cooley (2-3, 6.61 ERA)

Radio: WVUM 90.5 FM

Television: ACC Network Extra