Canespace

Tech Wrecks Miami

Freshman Gabe Rivera's first collegiate hit came on a two-run home run, but it wasn't enough for the visiting Hurricanes, who fell to Georgia Tech, 13-4, at Russ Chandler Stadium Saturday.

Miami fell victim to a four-run third inning to face an early deficit, as the host Yellow Jackets captured Game 2 of a weekend ACC series.

The Hurricanes will look to salvage the series Sunday at 1 p.m. with junior Andrew Cabezas on the hill.

Head coach Jim Morris, who spent 12 seasons as head coach at Georgia Tech prior to joining the Hurricanes, was honored during pregame ceremonies with a commemorative bat presented by Yellow Jackets head coach Danny Hall.

But his team's bats could not solve Georgia Tech lefthander Connor Thomas until Rivera – who entered in the previous half-inning as a defensive replacement - cracked a one-out pitch well over the left field wall in the seventh.

Rivera became the second Hurricane to record a home run for his first collegiate hit this season; fellow freshman Alex Toral did it opening weekend against Rutgers in mid-February.

The Hurricanes made things interesting when freshman Isaac Quinones cracked a two-RBI double to left off reliever Jared Datoc in the eighth inning to cut the deficit to 7-4, but that was as close as they'd get.

Georgia Tech added six runs of insurance in the eighth to seal the win.

Is A Category Five Storm Headed Your Way?

Well it appears that somebody may have got upset about blowing a 6 run lead in the ninth inning recently? Only time will tell but it looks promising.

Junior Andrew Cabezasimpressed in his second straight Sunday start, and the Hurricanes finished off their first sweep of Virginia since 2008 with an 8-1 win at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.

Cabezas, who was moved to the rotation prior to the team's series at Duke last weekend, was in control from the outset against the No. 24 Cavaliers.

The fiery righthander went six innings for the second time in a week, helping clinch Miami's first sweep of the spring and marking Virginia's first time being swept on the road since March 2015.

Cabezas struck out a season-high eight batters. He walked two, scattered three hits and surrendered just one run in a 90-pitch effort. While Cabezas (2-2) was sharp again , he was also the benefactor of some early offense for the second straight weekend.

The Hurricanes (12-11, 6-3 ACC), who scored seven runs in support of Cabezas last Sunday, plated four runs in the game's first two innings to jump out to an early 4-0 lead against the Cavaliers (13-10, 3-6 ACC).

"Knowing my teammates picked me up and scored those early runs, it made me a lot looser," Cabezas said. "I was attacking the zone a lot more. It's something I should be doing regardless but the fact that my team responded as quick as they did gives you much more confidence."

Freshman Isaac Quinones led the charge offensive with his third straight multi-hit game (2-for-4). Seven of Miami's nine starters had at least one hit, as the Hurricanes out-hit the Cavaliers for the third straight game.

It was Quinones who put Miami on the board in the first with a two-out, two-run double.

The Hurricanes strung three straight two-out hits off Virginia starter Bobby Nicholson (1-1) to take the lead. Singles from seniors Hunter Tackett and Michael Burnsset the stage for Quinones, who drove a 1-2 pitch to left field to score both runners.

"I was looking for one pitch, really. I sat back, waited on the pitch I was looking for and got an inside fastball," Quinones said.

As he has done countless occasions over the past three weeks as Miami's starting catcher, Quinones delivered in a big spot.

"It feels great," he said. "I knew getting a two-out hit, from the start, could get us going and get the energy going. I knew we would have the right momentum."

Now that's the way, uh-huh, uh-huh, we like it!

Conditions Favorable For Hurricanes To Strengthen

Sophomore Evan McKendry helped Miami capture its first series victory over Virginia since 2009, racking up 12 strikeouts in a 1-0 win Saturday night Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.

A night after senior lefthander Jeb Bargfeldt set the tone with 7.2 innings in a walk-off win, the Hurricanes (11-11, 5-3 ACC) received a career long-tying seven innings from its star sophomore.

McKendry (4-2), who entered the game with the highest strikeout-per-nine ratio among starting pitchers in the ACC, tied a career high with 12 more punchouts in a dominating performance.

Miami's pitching staff has held the Cavaliers (13-9, 3-5 ACC) to nine hits in a combined 20.0 innings in the first two games of the series. The Hurricanes, whose last series sweep over the Cavaliers came in 2008, will go for their first such weekend of the spring Sunday at 1 p.m.

Laughing Out Loud At U

FAU used a six-run ninth inning to pull past Miami Wednesday night at Mark Light Field, capturing an 11-9 win in a midweek matchup. 

Thanks largely to a grand slam from second baseman Eric Rivera in the game's final inning, the Owls (16-5) rallied past Miami (9-11) in shocking fashion in front of 2,831 fans.

"It's disappointing," senior co-captain Michael Burns said. "It's a tough one to swallow tonight. I thought we really had it going and didn't end up on top...it's how you respond on Friday. That's what we're looking to do - looking to respond to this game on Friday."

Miami was not aided by five errors from its defense. Rivera's slam off Miami reliever Cooper Hammond (1-1) capped the comeback. FAU reliever Zach Schneider picked up his seventh save with a scoreless ninth inning.

"For us, when we're up 9-2, we have to win. We have to put the game away," head coach Jim Morris said. "We had a chance to pound somebody, and we didn't. We let them back in the ballgame, we played terrible defense. We didn't pitch late, and we made too many errors to let them back in the game."

And that is why you should have retired at least three years ago.

It is sad, but true.

The Devils Went Down To Miami

Junior Andrew Cabezas shined in his first start of the season, Miami's offense shook off a slow start to the series, and the Hurricanes departed Durham Bulls Athletic Park with a resounding 8-2 win over No. 23 Duke Sunday afternoon.

Cabezas, who had not made a start since helping clinch a College World Series trip in an NCAA Super Regional game in 2016, was dominant from the outset against the Blue Devils. He struck out five, walked just one and needed only 74 pitches in an efficient outing.

Cabezas (1-2) was backed by an offense that was more than Duke righthander Ryan Day could handle. The Hurricanes tagged Day for two runs in the first, two more in the second, and chased him in a third inning where they extended their early lead to 7-0.

Senior Hunter Tackett had his first three-hit game of the season (3-for-3), freshman Dylan Cloonan had the first three-hit game of his career (3-for-5) while three other Hurricanes had multi-hit performances.

Miami out-hit the Blue Devils (16-4, 4-2 ACC), 15-7, on the afternoon, while Day was charged with a career-high six runs in just 2.1 innings.

The 15 hits were tied for the most by Miami in any game this season.

Whatever Men Can Do, Women Can Do Better

The University of Miami women's basketball team begins its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance Saturday afternoon in Storrs, Conn. Eighth-seeded Miami (21-10, 10-6 ACC) meets ninth-seeded Quinnipiac at Gampel Pavilion, with tip time scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

The Hurricanes, making their ninth consecutive postseason appearance, are 6-12 all-time in NCAA Tournament play. They are in the field for the seventh time in the past eight years and have advanced to the second round in four of their last six trips.

Miami is 2-1 all-time versus the Bobcats, posting wins in the regular season by 30-plus in both 2002 and 2009. In the most recent meeting, the NCAA Round of 32 a season ago, No. 12-seed Quinnipiac edged the fourth-seeded Hurricanes, 85-78, at the Watsco Center.

Quinnipiac is 27-5 (18-0 MAAC) on the season, including 27-2 in its past 29 games. The Bobcats have won 22 straight outings, with their last loss coming on Dec. 18. Their top healthy scorer is redshirt junior forward Jen Fay, who averages 13.1 points per game and was named First Team All-MAAC.

The winner of Saturday's contest plays again Monday versus either top-ranked and top-seeded UConn or No. 16-seed St. Francis (PA) in the NCAA Round of 32.

Loyola Turns The Lykes Out On The Canes

Only one and done. So the Lykes went out on Miami in the NCAA tourney.

Your Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team lost in the first round of the college basketball tournament like so many predicted they would because they simply are not good enough for prime time.

Canespacers would rather be golfing and hanging with Tiger Woods in town at the Arnold Palmer Invitational Tournament at Bay Hill.

Offensively they have no strategy or effective approach to scoring the rock.

They have no true point guard to distribute the ball in a consistent manner.

Their free throw shooting is horrid as are other fundamentals of the game.

Terrance has more game than the entire squad, just ask the Hooters girls.

Defensively they play well at times only to be plagued by long lapses in protecting the rim. They have no lane presence and a some really tiny dude at point guard who appears to be a serious defensive liability.

Thank God it ended quickly and before all Canes fans got their hopes up.

Now, how about that baseball team? They smacked UCF last night just like we like it. And UM women's golf is dominating their events too. Their is plenty positive to be found about the UM athletic department.

So shift your focus, stay tuned and...Let's Go Canes!!!

Canes Turn Lights Out On The Knights

With Canespace on hand to witness the sporting festivities, your University of Miami Hurricanes (8-8) snapped the nation's longest winning streak with a 4-3 win over No. 21 UCF Wednesday night at John Euliano Park in Orlando.

UM Freshman sensation right-hander Daniel Federman (1-1) made the most of his first start as he tossed five strong innings for the Hurricanes who ended a stretch of 13 straight victories by the Knights.

"It was big for a lot of reasons, one because they're ranked in the top 25," head coach Jim Morris said. "It was a team effort. Federman made his first start and we got a great effort there. A lot of guys offensively did a good job."

Miami received a stellar effort from its bullpen, which allowed no runs over the game's final three innings to seal the win in front of 2,188 fans including Hurricane fans RaizeCane and 86Cane from Canespace.

The fiesty Federman allowed three runs and struck out five batters in a career-long outing. Junior Frankie Bartow pitched two scoreless innings, junior Andrew Cabezas pitched a perfect eighth inning, and senior Cooper Hammond picked up his second save of the season with a scoreless ninth.

"The blood was flowing, but once you get going, it's just another game," Federman said. "I wanted to come out here and give my team the best opportunity to win. They had my back today."

Funny, RaizeCane had a similar quote: "The beer was flowing, and once the game got going, it was just another game," he said. We wanted to come out here and give the Hurricanes our support to win. We had their back today."  

Canespace blog editor 86Cane was quoted as saying: "The weather was spectacular and the ball park was a nice home away from home for the Hurricanes tonight. The UCF fans were friendly and it was a great night for baseball in Central Florida. Can we do this again tomorrow, and the next day?"

Hit The Road Jim

The Miami Hurricanes will be opening their first true road trip of the season Wednesday, March 14 at #21 UCF. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. from John Euliano Park.

From Orlando, Miami will travel to Durham, N.C., for a three-game series against No. 23 Duke at Durham Bulls Athletic Park beginning Friday, March 16.

The stretch marks an important early-season test for the Hurricanes, who have only played one ranked opponent this season - then-No. 1 Florida, in weekend series from Feb. 23-25.

Freshman Daniel Federman (0-1, 1.62 ERA) will make the first start of his collegiate career Wednesday vs. the Knights, who have won 12 games in a row in a stretch dating back to Feb. 23.

Federman ranks second in appearances this season with nine, all coming in relief. The Pembroke Pines, Fla., native has allowed three earned runs in 16.2 combined innings. He is holding opponents to a .167 batting average with 15 strikeouts.

UCF is under the direction of second-year head coach Greg Lovelady, a two-time national champion at Miami in 1999 and 2001.

If I Had A Chance I'd Ask The World To Dance

Your University of Miami men's basketball team is going dancing in Dallas!

So put on your dancing shoes and hit the floor.

The time to dance is now!