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Cardiac Canes: Eighth Inning 'BOMBS' Help Miami Past Duke
In terms of sheer entertainment, Miami Hurricanes and Duke Blue Devils baseball fans sure got their money's worth today.
The No. 4-seed Hurricanes locked up a semifinal appearance against No. 1-seed Wake Forest but rounded out the final game of pool play with the No. 5-seed Blue Devils.
"What I told them was, 'You just guaranteed your chance at a regional.' I told them, 'You win tomorrow, you have a chance to be a national seed.'"
The Hurricanes had an issue that mirrored one of Thursday night's blunders: Bringing runners home. The Canes left 13 runners on, the exact amount they left on Thursday. But, it didn't matter on Friday. The Hurricanes stole the game in the eighth inning from the Blue Devils at home in Durham, N.C.
Miami first baseman CJ Cayfus started the rally with his home run with no outs. Then, Canes' third baseman, Yohandy "Yo-Yo" Morales did what he has done time and time again in his Miami career: Timely hitting.
Morales took a 0-2 ball and ejected it to right field, tying the ball game for Miami.
When the designated hitter, Renzo Gonzales stepped to the plate, the Canes had runners on first and second with two outs. Gonzales smoked the baseball to centerfield which missed two Blue Devils' gloves before it was corraled. Gonzales' RBI single brought home the second baseman, Blake Cyr, which was the winning run for the Canes.
Ronaldo Gallo started the game for the Canes and dealt over 4 1/3 innings while allowing two hits and two earned runs, both of which were solo home runs. He also had five strikeouts on the day.
After throwing 28 pitches on Thursday, Miami closing pitcher Andrew Walters pitched the ninth inning and downed two of the three batters he faced. After throwing 42 pitches across two days, Walters could be in a prime position to close out the semifinal game against Wake Forest.
Miami coach Gino DiMare's team has been working toward hosting a regional. He said he likes the position Miami is in, but assured his team there is more to be done.
"What I told them was, 'You just guaranteed your chance at a regional,'" DiMare said. "I told them, 'You win tomorrow, you have a chance to be a national seed.'"
Miami will battle the Demon Deacons at 1:00 (EST) on Saturday at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
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