After midweek loss to FAU, Hurricanes bats come back to life in sweep of Princeton
There’s a reason Bobby Marsh’s teammates call him “Bobby Barrels.” The Miami Hurricanes’ designated hitter has a knack for big hits at big moments, and it’s a major reason UM wanted him out of the transfer portal when he left Penn State.
Marsh has shown up early and often at the plate for the Hurricanes through the first two weeks of the season.
Sunday was the latest such effort.
Marsh, a 6-2, 208-pound lefty slugger, hit a grand slam in the first inning of Miami’s 8-0 win over Princeton on Sunday as the Hurricanes swept the four-game weekend series with the Tigers.
“I was sitting fastball,” said Marsh, who leads the team with 15 RBI while hitting .298 with four doubles and the grand slam. “I was just looking for a pitch somewhere over the middle of the plate that I could handle. I knew that he was locating his fastball better than his breaking ball to lefties.”
Miami (7-1) won the opener 3-1 on Friday and dominated both games of a Saturday doubleheader by scores of 10-3 and 15-1.
But it was more than just Marsh who had a productive weekend. The Hurricanes had 38 hits against Princeton (0-4). Twelve of those hits went for extra bases, including a home run each game. Catcher Tanner Smith hit a two-run homer on Friday, shortstop Jake Ogden a grand slam in Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader, third baseman Daniel Cuvet a two-run shot in the second game Saturday and Marsh the grand slam on Sunday.
Ogden had six hits with seven RBI and five runs scored over four games against Princeton. That included three hits, a pair of RBI singles and three runs scored on Sunday.
“The lineup’s pretty long,” UM coach J.D. Arteaga said. “It doesn’t really give pitchers a chance to relax mentally. ... If you make a mistake, they’re gonna make you pay.”
If was a welcomed bounce back from Miami’s bats after the offense went quiet in a 2-1 loss to FAU on Tuesday, a game in which the Owls scored on a pair of bases-loaded walks in the seventh inning to hand the Hurricanes their first loss of the season.
“The biggest thing. Is that just taking it one game at a time after the game,” Marsh said. “We had a couple hours to sit back and and let it kind of affect us, but the next day, as soon as it passed, we were looking forward to Princeton.”
Brian Walters spectacular in finale
In just his second career start, redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Brian Walters threw six no-hit innings while striking out nine on Sunday. The only baserunners he allowed were a hit-by-pitch in the second inning and a walk in the sixth inning. Of his 71 pitches, 49 landed for strikes.
“I was just trying to keep us going as long as I can,” Walters said. “Every day, taking the same approach in terms of consistency and just continue to trust both myself and my team to put me in those positions.”
Miami’s no-hit bid Sunday ended in the seventh inning when Princeton’s Nick Schenefelt hit a two-out single to left field against reliever Carson Fischer. That’s the only hit the Hurricanes allowed in the finale as Miami logged its second shutout of the season.
It put a stamp on another strong weekend overall by Miami’s starting pitchers. Before Walters on Sunday, Nick Robert gave up one unearned run while striking out eight over five innings on Friday; Griffin Hugus struck out nine while giving up two earned runs over six innings in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader; and Alex Giroux held Princeton to one run over six innings while striking out five in the second game Saturday.
Overall, Hurricanes pitchers have struck out 96 batters over 69 innings through the first eight games of the season.
This includes 58 strikeouts in 41 1/3 innings by starting pitchers. Hugus leads the way with 20 strikeouts over 12 innings through his first two starts of the season. Walters is close behind with 19 over 11 innings.
The week ahead
The Hurricanes host Florida Gulf Coast on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. before traveling to Gainesville for a weekend series against the Florida Gators. Start times for the games at UF are 6:30 p.m. Friday, 4:30 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
This story was originally published February 23, 2025 at 3:30 PM.
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