HASTA LUEGO. Four times today, park clearing HRs accounted for 5 of the Miami 8 runs, propelling the revitalized Canes to an 8-6 series win. It was an air show performance, backed by stellar relief pitching from Will Smith and Closer Brian Walters, lifting the Canes to their second consecutive ACC series win, moving them into the third tier of the ACC standings.
Today’s lineup saw the absence of Derick Williams, who injured his hand in yesterday’s game and will be x-rayed tomorrow to determine the extent of the damage and whether it will result in a prolonged absence from the lineup. His batting is crucial, as he leads the team in home runs and doubles, and we pray that this does not turn into a season-ending injury. I don’t understand JD’s logic in putting two sub-par hitters batting below .200 in the lineup. The outdated approach of matching hitters with pitchers must come to an end. You need the best players on the field. Michael Torres is a skilled fielder, yet he continues to struggle against college pitching. Opting for Evan Taveras as our designated hitter over Bobby Marsh is questionable. Yes, Evan hit one of the four home runs today, which was his sole hit, but he also struck out twice. Meanwhile, Michael Torres delivered yet another hitless performance. While I acknowledge Evan’s hitting capability, I firmly believe that Bobby should be the one swinging the bat, no matter the circumstances.
In a game filled with momentum shifts, Duke made the first statement. Like Griffin on Friday, Tate found himself in a difficult position with a pitch count of 25 at the end of the first inning, with Miami trailing 2-0 after a two-run home run. Tate settled down, permitting only a walk in the second inning and a single in the fourth before Miami managed to chip away at the score in the fourth with Daniel Cuvet’s sixth home run of the year, his second in two days. In the play leading up to Daniel’s HR, it could have been detrimental to the final outcome, which, fortunately, it was not. However, this is worth mentioning. Jake leads off with a single. Fabio lays down a sacrifice bunt, advancing Jake to second, where he decides to stretch it to third, believing Duke’s defense had lowered its guard. He is thrown out at third; had he stayed at second, it would have tied the score at two instead of trailing by one…