No. 11 Miami Dominates No. 16 Duke, 10-1
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The No. 11 Miami Hurricanes flipped the script.
After overcoming a five-run deficit in a walk-off win Friday evening, Saturday was a different story.
Miami mashed three home runs, downing No. 16 Duke, 10-1, in front of a soldout crowd at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.
Junior right fielder Zach Levenson launched a grand slam to kickstart the scoring for the Hurricanes (37-18, 18-12 ACC) in the third.
After Duke (35-19, 16-13 ACC) pushed across a run in the fourth, junior first baseman CJ Kayfus socked an opposite-field solo shot.
With Miami’s pitching staff silencing the Blue Devils, freshman second baseman Blake Cyr crushed a two-run homer in the seventh to break the game open.
Cyr’s 16th blast pushed the Hurricanes’ season home run to 106, which is tied for the second most in program history, joining the 2008 and 2010 teams.
Junior catcher Carlos Perez and Kayfus combined to tack on three tallies with back-to-back doubles in the eighth to bookend Miami’s 20th 10-run game of the year.
The Hurricanes’ hurlers matched the offense step for step.
Right-handers Ronaldo Gallo, Carlos Lequerica, Alejandro Torres and Andrew Walters held the Blue Devils to one unearned run on six hits. Gallo (2-3) tossed three scoreless innings to earn the win.
Throughout the Hurricanes’ regular-season finale, Miami announced its team awards. Torres garnered the Bob Werner Award, which is given annually to the player who most exemplifies the qualities of a winner and good teammate.
For the second straight season, Walters earned the Ron Fraser Award, presented to the Hurricanes pitcher of the year. Cyr was tabbed team Rookie of the Year, while junior shortstop Dominic Pitelli took home the Arnold Novins Fan Favorite Award.
Cyr was also crowned the home run champion and junior third baseman Yohandy Morales was named Hurricanes MVP.
Following their sixth straight series victory, the Hurricanes will be the No. 4 seed in the ACC Baseball Championship. The conference tournament begins Tuesday, May 23 at the Durham Bulls Park in Durham, N.C.
