No. 11 @CanesBaseball Falls to Marlins 7-1

JUPITER, Fla. – The No. 11 Miami Hurricanes made the short trip to Roger Dean Stadium for their annual exhibition with the Marlins Tuesday, falling in the afternoon affair by the final score of 7-1.

Facing a Marlins lineup featuring Ichiro Suzuki, Christian Yelich, Adeiny Hechavarria and other regular starters, Hurricanes starter Ryan Otero pitched two scoreless innings to open the game.

Despite issuing three walks in the brief outing, Otero got help from his defense, including back-to-back diving plays from shortstop Brandon Lopez that kept the score at 0-0 in the second inning.

Miami ran into trouble in the third, when Marlins third baseman Martin Prado singled to put runners on the corners against reliever Daniel Briggi. Justin Bour opened the scoring with an RBI single, but Briggi induced a flyout to center for the final out of the inning.

Briggi and freshman righthander Jesse Lepore were tagged for six runs in a decisive fourth inning, when the Marlins jumped ahead 7-0. RBI doubles from Miguel Rojas and Tyler Colvin keyed the inning, while Sam Abrams entered and induced a flyout from J.T. Realmuto.

Miami got on the board in the seventh, when Zack Collins connected on a double to open the inning and scored on an RBI groundout from Peter Crocitto. Collins, who hit a solo home run in last year’s exhibition, finished 2-for-4 on Tuesday.

Miami returns to Mark Light Field Wednesday for a matchup with visiting FGCU. First pitch for the game, slated for broadcast on WVUM 90.5 FM, is set for 6 p.m.