Sweep! No. 8 Miami makes it 13 in row to beat No. 3 Virginia for longest streak since 2015
Sweep!
Again.
At this rate, sizzling Miami Hurricanes baseball will need new brooms before those bristles wear out.
No. 8 Miami defeated No. 3 Virginia 15-5 Sunday at Mark Light Field to take the three-game series for its 13th win in a row and third consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference weekend sweep. Miami is the nation’s second hottest team, behind only Tennessee, which is 31-1 and has 23 consecutive wins.
UM’s winning streak, its longest since 2015, coupled with its first sweep over a top-3 team since 2012, should propel the Canes to the nation’s top 5 when the rankings are released Monday. Miami (26-6, 13-2 ACC) already was ranked as high as seventh by Collegiate Baseball, with the No. 8 ranking by D1Baseball.com. UVA, ranked as high as No. 2 by Baseball America, fell to 26-6 and 9-6.
“We just spoke about it in the locker room,’’ UM coach Gino DiMare said. “I told them I don’t know what we’re going to be ranked, and I don’t try to talk too much about rankings. But it came up.
“I said, ‘Sure, we’re going to move up. I don’t know where, but make sure we stay humble, make sure we stay grounded, make sure you understand that the poll right now has no bearing. The only poll I care about is the last poll.’
“That’s our goal. We know where we want to be. We happened to put ourselves in a good place right now. It’s a long season to go... My goodness, we’ve got a lot of good teams still left on our schedule.”
The hard-hitting Hurricanes, who had 13 hits Sunday, proved again they could do it under pressure, coming from behind in all three weekend games. Down 3-0 Sunday, UM scored five runs in the third and six in the fourth for an 11-3 lead. The Canes added three runs in the sixth and another in the seventh.
Virginia, which came into the series with the country’s No. 1 scoring offense (11 runs a game) and top team batting average (.336), was outscored 26 to 11 in the series and outhit 31 to 21. The Canes hit seven home runs during the series.
Left fielder Edgardo Villegas, who was 2 for 4 with 3 RBI Sunday, hit his second home run in the past four games to put UM ahead for good, 4-3, in the bottom of the third. Also with 2-hit games: CJ Kayfus, Henry Wallen and Max Romero.
“I made an error earlier in the game,’’ Villegas said of his throwing miscue in the second inning. “I was trying to help my team. There were guys in scoring position and I just tried to hit the ball hard. Thank God it went out.”
Virginia scored first when Chris Newell doubled down the right-field line in the second inning and came home on Ethan Anderson’s single to left. The Cavaliers added two In the third, another in the sixth and one in the ninth.
UM right-handed starter Alejandro Rosario went four innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits and five walks. He struck out two. Rosario’s reliever, Alejandro Torres (3-0), got the victory after allowing 1 run in 1 1/3 innings.
Virginia used seven pitchers. Left-handed starter Jake Berry (4-1) allowed five earned runs on five hits and a walk for the loss.
The Canes host FAU of Boca Raton on Tuesday, before traveling to Blacksburg, Virginia for a weekend series against Virginia Tech.
This story was originally published April 10, 2022 at 5:05 PM.
