No. 7 Miami (8-3) vs. FAU (7-4)
Roster | Coaches | Schedule | Game Notes
Mar. 4, 2020| 6:30 p.m.
FAU Baseball Stadium | Boca Raton, Fla.
By Josh White
HurricaneSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – It was part of the ballpark routine for Anthony Vilar.
Every weekend he and his friends came to Mark Light Field to watch their hometown Hurricanes. The youngsters would ball up the tin foil that had wrapped up the snacks they’d just eaten and play baseball down the right field line, emulating the players on the diamond.
And after idolizing Canes’ greats like Jemile Weeks, Yonder Alonso and Yasmani Grandal, Vilar is competing on the same sacred grounds where they once played.
“It’s a dream come true,” he said. I’ve always dreamed of coming here but playing every day, starting every day, being the second batter in the lineup, being a big piece of the team, is an incredible feeling.”
Vilar will get his next opportunity to rock the orange and green on Wednesday evening at FAU. The sophomore smacked four hits and scored four runs in the Hurricanes’ game against the Owls at FAU Baseball Stadium a year ago.
His career day against the Owls is one of the many milestones that Vilar looks back on from his impressive first season at UM. The Miami native couldn’t have written a better script.
With his dad in the stands, Vilar showed off his smooth swing, a craft he had been working on since his first days in the stands.
He first visited The Light when he was about four years old. His father, Henry, who walked-on to the Canes baseball team ahead of the 1990 season, brought his son as often as he could.
Immediately, he fell in love with UM.
At the 2004 alumni game, Vilar tried to dress like the Canes. Wearing his replica Hurricanes’ uniform, he put on a ‘U’ embroidered helmet and oversized batting gloves as almost as if he was ready to dig into the batter’s box.
Vilar worked tirelessly to make that dream a reality.
After two remarkable seasons at Westminster Christian, his hard work paid off. Former UM head coach Jim Morris and current skipper Gino DiMare called the budding star to visit.
Following the meeting, the Hurricanes offered Vilar. It was an easy choice.
But Vilar wanted to call his grandfather before telling anyone else of his decision.
“It means the world to me that he called my dad first and said, ‘I want to play in front of you, I want to play in front of my friends, I want to play in front of my family and the city of Miami,” the elder Vilar said. “Deep down inside, that’s what he always wanted. …This has been home for him since he was a kid. A lot of kids dream it and we’re so thankful he gets to live it.”
Vilar hit .291 with five home runs as a freshman and was one of three Canes to start all 61 games in 2019.
In his sophomore season, he is batting .279 across the Hurricanes’ first 11 games. But his role this year has changed.
With projected first-round pick Freddy Zamora suffering a season-ending knee injury, Vilar has shifted over as Miami’s primary shortstop.
He hasn’t missed a beat anchoring the Hurricanes’ infield.
“Over the summer, we nicknamed him ‘Easy’ because he looks so smooth out there and makes everything look easy,” said first baseman Alex Toral, who played alongside Vilar for the Chatham Anglers in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League. “He plays all aspects of the game. He’s a good hitter. He knows how to deliver in situations. Defensively, he’s going to make the routine plays, he’s going to make great plays. He does everything defensively. He makes an impact for us in every stage of the game.”
Added third baseman Raymond Gil, “Coming in last year, he seemed very mature for a freshman. He had a great year last year and he’s just building off of that. I think his confidence is sky high. He knows he can hit and he can play defense at the college level.”
The last two seasons, the Hurricanes’ alumni game has been a family affair.
With Henry coaching the alumni team and Anthony starring on the diamond, there is a proud dad in the third base dugout.
Vilar’s family attends nearly every home game but there is one moment they’re hoping to experience together.
“Those are moments I couldn’t have even dreamed of,” Henry Vilar said. “It feels so surreal. I’m trying to promise myself to get in good shape within the next year or two to get on the field with him in an alumni game.”