Hurricanes shake off Florida series with Bethune-Cookman win. Up next: ACC play
The Miami Hurricanes baseball team wanted to quickly shake off a series sweep that came at the hands of the Florida Gators last weekend.
They did that Wednesday as the No. 24 Hurricanes beat the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats 5-2 at Mark Light Field.
Right fielder Derek Williams hit a two-run double in the seventh to give Miami (11-2) the lead for good. First baseman Brylan West added a sacrifice fly to cap the three-run inning. West went 2 for 2 with a walk, the sacrifice fly and a run scored on Wednesday.
Left fielder Fabio Peralta and third baseman Daniel Cuvet hit sacrifice flies in the second and fifth innings, respectively, to open scoring for the Hurricanes.
However, Bethune-Cookman (9-4) responded to each of Miami’s first two sacrifice flies to tie the game each time. First it was a Sergio Rivera single to left field that skipped past Peralta and allowed Jose Fernandez to score from first base on the subsequent two-base error in the top of the fifth inning to tie the game at 1-1. Then it was a Michael Rodriguez RBI single to left field in the sixth that scored Jeter Polledo to even the game at 2-2.
Right-handed pitcher Tate DeRias, whose scheduled start on Sunday against the Florida Gators got rained out, pitched two shutout innings, striking out three while allowing one hit and one walk.
Sebastian Santos-Olson (two innings pitched, one hit, one unearned run, three strikeouts), TJ Coats (2/3 shutout inning, two hits, two strikeouts), Jack Durso (one inning, two hits, one run, two strikeouts), Lyndon Glidewell (2/3 shutout inning), Jake Dorn (2/3 shutout inning), Lazaro Collera (one shutout inning) and Ryan Bilka (one shutout inning, one walk, one strikeout) followed from the bullpen.
Bilka earned Miami’s first save of the season with his scoreless ninth inning.
The Hurricanes open Atlantic Coast Conference play on Friday when they begin a three-game series against Boston College. Game times are 7 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday, with all games streaming on ACC Network Xtra.
Miami was voted to finish eighth in the 16-team ACC in the preseason coaches poll. Boston College was voted to finish last.
Sheahan returns
Hurricanes shortstop Vance Sheahan, a transfer from USC Upstate, returned to the lineup on Wednesday after missing the past seven games with a strained abdominal muscle.
Sheahan went 0 for 4 at the plate but did make a nifty play in the fourth inning on a Maikol Lucena groundball. Sheahan ranged to his left, spun around and fired an off-balance throw to West at first base for the inning-ending putout.
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