Alonzo Alvarez Gives Miami a Secret Weapon Heading into the NCAA Tournament
CORAL GABLES — The start of the season was loaded with senior and upperclass talent for the Miami Hurricanes.
The youngest player in the lineup was sophomore outfielder Michael Torres, but as the season continued, new talent got a chance to flash what they could do. It started with freshman Alonzo Alvarez, who has taken the catcher spot over Alex Sosa, due to injury, but he has not given that spot back since the switch two weeks before the ACC Tournament.
"It's good," Alvarez said. "Being able to kind of get in the routine and catching more than just one game, it helps, but Salty does a great job of preparing us, and I mean, I learned a lot from Sosa, so kind of still trying to pick their mind, and every game, I can learn something new, so it's been good."
Now Alvarez has turned into one of the most exciting young players in the country, being named to the All-ACC freshman team, and is likely to be on the freshman All-American list.
Moreover, in the ACC Tournament, the star freshman was the key to the Canes offense, highlighting his importance on both sides of the ball.
Alvarez is rounding into form right now, and now he is more excited about the NCAA Tournament and the Gainesville Regional after his first taste of a tournament atmosphere.
"I'm excited," Alvarez said. "The tournament was kind of the closest thing that I've done to that, and it does, it shows that clean baseball is going to win ballgames, and we're just going to go out and play fun baseball."
Moreover, moving Sosa to first base has unlocked a new side of the Hurricanes. They have two catchers on the field at the same time, allowing more help with pitches and better eyes for what the Canes can be defensively.
"Yeah, I mean, the biggest things for me are just knowing where I need to be as far as like cuts, things like that," Sosa said. "I mean, I've played infield my whole life, so I've fielded plenty of ground balls, so I mean, really just, really just that. I mean, it's fun because it's something new. But I mean, at the end of the day, like, you know, you gotta take it seriously. It's, you know, what the team needs and yeah."
With both on the field at the same time, the inconsistencies in the bullpen can be minimized while also exploiting both offensive firepower.
Defensively, Alvarez has been able to match what Sosa was doing for the season, and now, with the move to first base, while he is still learning, it has allowed the Canes to limit their errors and play their best.
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.
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