Hot Hurricanes baseball to host Florida State this weekend
Earlier this month, the Miami baseball program had a losing record.
That feels like a really long time ago.
The Hurricanes (9-4, 5-3 ACC), ranked as high as No. 5 by Baseball America, are on a six-game winning streak and have not only excelled on the mound with some exceptional youth, but have brought out the bats for some impressive slugfests — including a 15-2 victory Wednesday at Florida Gulf Coast.
But here comes Miami’s Atlantic Coast Conference nemesis Florida State (7-6, 4-5), who brought their record above .500 Tuesday in Tallahassee with a confidence-inspiring 10-2 victory over the Florida Gators, ranked fifth by D1 Baseball.
The teams will meet at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at UM’s Mark Light Field.
“Their strength to me, so far, has been the depth of their pitching,’’ UM coach Gino DiMare said of the Seminoles, who will start left-handed redshirt freshman pitcher Parker Messick (1-2, 3.54 ERA).
As for the Canes, DiMare said they’re just playing more confidently. “Why do we have confidence?” DiMare said. “Obviously, we’re playing better baseball — more complete baseball.’’
The Canes are led offensively by freshman Yohandy Morales (.345 with 15 RBI, 3 HR), Christian Del Castillo (.340, 15 RBI) and Anthony Vilar (.327, 3 HR, 13 RBI).
UM right-handed freshman Alejandro Rosario (2-0, 1.96 ERA), who allowed one hit in seven shutout innings last Friday in a 10-0 win against Wake Forest, will get his second Friday-night start against the Seminoles.
Rosario said Thursday during a Zoom video conference that he’s “not trying to do too much” on the mound, and credits the entire UM program for his progress. “The coaching staff, the team support, the players,’’ he said, “just all around they support you, they carry you.’’
This story was originally published March 18, 2021 at 2:57 PM.
