Don’t look now but the #2 Miami Hurricanes baseball squad is 26-2 after a weekend sweep of Clemson and is poised to take over the #1 spot in the polls this coming week after current #1 Arizona State dropped Saturday’s game at Stanford and is in jeopardy of dropping 2-of-3, down late in Sunday’s contest.
The action started down at The U on Friday evening when a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the ninth was ended after a Yonder Alonso walk-off two-run home run for a 6-4 victory. The Canes jumped to 24-2 on the season – their second best start in the Jim Morris era.
Miami threw an old fashion beat down on Clemson Saturday night to clinch the series.
Freshman catcher Yasmani Grandal was the night’s hero with a career best 4-for-5, four RBI night to lead the Canes to a 15-5 victory. Sophomore pitches Kyle Bellamy improved his record to 5-0 on the year and again it was another 3,000+ capacity crowd at Mark Light Stadium.
The Canes broke open a tight 7-5 game with bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth. Dennis Raben doubled to left center, increasing the lead to 9-5 and Mark Sobolewski followed with a double of his own, making it 11-5.
An Adan Severino sac fly gave Miami a 12-5 with two outs and runners in scoring position. Grandal doubled down the left field like, putting the Canes ahead 14-5 and scored on a Blake Tekotte RBI single, pushing Miami ahead, 15-5.
Sunday’s contest could’ve easily slipped away with the series in the bag, but again the Canes hung in there right down to the wire in a hard-fought 7-6 win. It was a Dave DiNatale three-run shot in the fifth that proved to be the difference maker.
Next up for Miami, a few mid-week contests – including Florida Gulf Coast and Florida Atlantic. The Canes beat the Owls, 16-7 last week and have a rematch on Wednesday before the Canes brace for another ACC road trip – this time to #14 Georgia Tech, fresh off of losing 2-of-3 at #3 North Carolina.
A great week for Canes baseball as Miami is all but assured the #1 spot come Monday and another great ACC rivalry is on deck for next weekend.