Miami bats heat up in 21-1 midweek rout over FIU

There was not much, if anything, to not cheer about for the No. 20 Miami Hurricanes on Wednesday evening on the other side of Miami.

Smothering crosstown rival Florida International (10-6, 0-0 C-USA) 21-1 at FIU Baseball Stadium, everything fell into place for Miami (13-8, 7-7 ACC) after having rallied off a series win at Virginia — one that included two come-from-behind wins.

Sophomore Adrian Del Castillo paced the team with four RBIs — tying his career-high — and scored three runs, as Miami won its sixth-straight non-conference matchup on the 2021 season and third straight over FIU.

Equaling the highest number of runs scored since 2015, the Canes initiated a five-run burst in the third inning to gain a 6-0 advantage on the Panthers. Freshman third baseman Yohandy Morales doubled to left-center field on a 3-2 count to score sophomore second baseman Anthony Vilar.

Leading off with a solo home run to left field was sophomore left fielder Jordan Lala for his 25^th run on the season. The Tampa, Fla., native went 1-for-4 on the night, nonetheless.

Spearheading the Canes’ attack at the plate, redshirt junior center fielder Christian Del Castillo hit an RBI single in the third, and Morales then followed with a triple to right field to score Vilar once more.

Junior right fielder Gabe Rivera, who has totaled six RBIs through 18 at-bats, blasted a leadoff solo home run to center field in the fifth inning.

Reaching first base on an error by FIU shortstop Steven Ondina, Morales kept the bases loaded while freshman shortstop Dominic Pitelli scored. Junior first baseman Alex Toral hit a 2-run RBI single as Morales and Vilar tacked on an additional two unearned runs on the Panthers bullpen.

Junior center fielder Tony Jenkins, though hitting only .098 through 20 games, added a one-out RBI single in the top of the ninth frame for Miami’s 20^th run. UM left two runners on base, yet that remained meaningless by the time freshman reliever Nicholas Regalado finished three FIU batters to close out.

Allowing five hits while striking out three hitters through six innings, second-year freshman starter Jake Garland moved to 4-1 while holding a 4.45 ERA.

FIU starter Jermaine Vanheyningen picked up his first loss, relinquishing one earned run having faced only 10 batters through two innings.

Miami will pick up against Duke on Friday for a three-game series at Mark Light Field, as freshman right-handed starter Alejandro Rosario will seek his fourth win.

The Canes and the Blue Devils will take the field 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.