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The Miami Hurricanes are 32-14 (14-10 ACC) after a series-opening victory against the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats. Miami has won five games in a row as they continue to look to strengthen their NCAA Tournament resume heading down the stretch.
Brian Van Belle gave the Hurricanes a good performance as he pitched in his first ever Friday night game. The junior went seven innings and allowed just three runs, only two of which were earned. Daniel Federman and Alex Ruiz both pitched scoreless innings to close out the game for the ‘Canes.
Miami used the home run to garner more than half of their offense today. Jordan Lala opened the scoring on the evening with a two-run home run in the bottom of the third that made the game 2-0 at the time. In the bottom of the eighth, Gabe Rivera sent a line drive over the fence in left field to give the Hurricanes some breathing room and give the game its’ final score of 9-3.
Bethune-Cookman did manage to take a lead in the game. After Lala knocked his home run, the Wildcats put together a rally in the top of the fifth. An RBI double, RBI groundout, and RBI single scored three runs to put the Wildcats up 3-2. However, Miami immediately retook the lead in the bottom of the frame with a two RBI single from Anthony Vilar.
Vilar would add on another RBI in the bottom of the seventh. The freshman was two for five with three RBIs on the day, and was easily Miami’s best player at the plate. He worked good at-bats all evening and helped set up the rest of the lineup. In fact, he didn’t just drive in runs, as he also scored on an error in the bottom of the seventh to make the game 6-3 at the time.
The Hurricanes will look to finish strong this weekend as they absolutely have to sweep this series to continue to be a projected host. Miami is in a good position heading towards the end of the regular season, now they must continue to execute in order to meet their goals.
Game Info
Winning Pitcher: Brian Van Belle (7-2, 7.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K)
Losing Pitcher: Anthony Maldonado (2-5, 7.0 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 K)
Save: None
Box Score:
Next Game
Vs Bethune-Cookman Game 2
Date & Time: Saturday, May 4, 7:00 P.M. Eastern
Hurricanes Starter: Slade Cecconi (5-3, 4.36 ERA)
Bethune-Cookman Starter: Brady Norris (2-0, 2.84 ERA)
Radio: 790 The Ticket
Television: ACC Network Extra