Cuvet, Gonzalez Power Miami Past Duke to Clinch Series

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami Hurricanes baseball team (20-17, 6-9 ACC) capped off their weekend series with a hard-fought 8-6 victory over Duke on Sunday afternoon at Mark Light Field. Daniel Cuvet’s bases-clearing double in the fifth inning, along with Dorian Gonzalez Jr.’s two solo home runs, led Miami to victory.

Miami right-handed pitcher Will Smith (2-0) earned the win in relief, striking out five over 2 1/3 perfect innings. Brian Walters closed the door in back-to-back games with a scoreless ninth inning.

Right-hander Ryan Higgins took the loss for the Blue Devils, allowing one run on two hits in 1 1/3 innings of relief. Higgins also allowed three inherited runners to score, as Miami’s five-run fifth inning proved to be the turning point in the series finale.

The Blue Devils (24-14, 9-9 ACC) didn’t waste any time in the series finale as Tyler Albright delivered a two-run home run to put Duke ahead 2-0 at the top of the first.

Miami would take some time to get the bats rolling, but a solo home run from Daniel Cuvet in the fourth inning would ignite the Hurricanes offense into the next inning. Cuvet was electric at the plate on Sunday as the Fort Lauderdale, Fla. native went 2-for-3 with four RBI – tying his season high.

However, Duke responded with a Jake Hyde triple that brought in two more Blue Devils, moving the score to 4-1 as the game headed into the bottom of the fifth.

Making his first start of the season as the designated hitter, Evan Taveras jump-started Miami’s momentum in the fifth inning with a towering two-run home run to right field. The sophomore’s second long ball of the year brought the Hurricanes back within a run, trimming the deficit to 4-3 and igniting what would become a pivotal five-run frame for Miami.

With the bases loaded, Daniel Cuvet stepped to the plate and delivered a clutch, bases-clearing double to right-center, driving in three runs that gave Miami a 6-4 lead. It marked the third time this season Cuvet recorded a bases-clearing hit, with his previous coming in the series finale at Pittsburgh.

Duke would storm back in the top of the sixth with a two-run homer from Jake Berger – tying the contest at six.

Dorian Gonzalez Jr. provided the late-inning heroics for Miami, belting solo home runs in both the sixth and eighth innings to push the Hurricanes ahead, 8-6. The team captain recorded his second multi-homer game of the season, with his previous two-homer performance coming on March 5 against Villanova.

Miami’s Brian Walters, coming off a save in Saturday’s win, returned to the mound and worked a scoreless ninth inning to seal the victory over Duke.

The Hurricanes will return to action Tuesday for a midweek matchup against Florida Atlantic at Mark Light Field, with first pitch set for 6 p.m.

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