Hurricanes baseball rides big fifth inning to series-opening win over Louisville
The Miami Hurricanes baseball team has been known for putting together big innings this season.
On Thursday, as Miami began its final home series of the season, that big inning came in the fifth as the Hurricanes put up nine runs against Louisville’s bullpen in a 13-8 win over of the Cardinals in the series opener at Mark Light Field.
The Hurricanes (34-14, 14-11 Atlantic Coast Conference) sent 13 batters to the plate against four Louisville pitchers. At one point, 10 consecutive batters safely reached base.
All told, the frame turned Miami’s 2-1 deficit into a 10-2 lead.
The momentum-shifting rally started with freshman third baseman Gabriel Milano’s one-out single to center field against Louisville starting pitcher Wyatt Danilowicz. It was the final batter Danilowicz faced, exiting the game after the Milano at-bat with an apparent injury.
UM’s offense capitalized on the Cardinals’ need to go to the bullpen early.
Their first victim: Ty Starke. Center fielder Fabio Peralta walked, second baseman Jake Ogden hit an RBI single to right field and then stole second, and Max Galvin walked to load the bases. Starke’s night was over.
Victim No. 2: Peter Michael. Right fielder Derek Williams walked to force in a run, designated hitter Alex Sosa hit an RBI single to left-center field and first baseman Brylan West hit a two-run single down the third-base line and into left field before catcher Alonzo Alvarez drew a full-count walk to once again load the bases. That ended Michael’s night.
And victim No. 3: Jake Schweitzer. Shortstop Vance Sheahan and Milano hit back-to-back RBI singles — Milano’s being his second hit of the inning — before a Peralta RBI groundout gave Louisville its second out of the frame. A passed ball during Ogden’s second at-bat of the inning capped Miami’s scoring in the fifth before Ogden, who had hits in each of his first three at-bats Thursday and four hits total, grounded out.
Miami kept hitting. It pushed its lead to 13-4 with a three-run seventh inning on an Ogden RBI single and Williams two-run single.
It was a needed surge after Louisville (26-24, 10-15 ACC) held Miami to just one run — a Galvin RBI groundout in the first that scored Ogden, who led off with a triple — through the first four innings.
And it backed up another strong outing from starting pitcher Rob Evans, although the bullpen once again made things interesting late. The senior lefty held Louisville to four runs (two earned runs) on five hits and one walk while striking out eight over six innings.
Louisville jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first on a Griffin Crain two-out double in the first following a Sheahan throwing error that kept the inning alive.
Evans settled in from there, giving up just one hit over the next four innings — a Ben Slanker single in the second that was erased on a pickoff — and at one point retired 11 consecutive hitters before giving up two more runs in the sixth.
Nick Roberts, making his second appearance of the season and first at home since March 26, 2025, tossed a scoreless seventh before running into trouble in the eighth. He was lifted after giving up a walk and single with one out. Jake Dorn then issued a walk to load the bases before giving up a grand slam to Slanker that cut Miami’s lead to 13-8.
Packy Bradley-Cooney recorded the final two outs in the eighth and Lyndon Glidewell tossed a scoreless ninth to seal the win.
The series continues at 7 p.m. Friday and concludes at 2 p.m. Saturday.
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