Miami Edged by Virginia After Back-and-Forth Battle
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Miami baseball team (30-20, 14-11 ACC) suffered a dramatic 10-9 loss to Virginia (29-16, 13-10 ACC) Saturday evening at Disharoon Park. Cavaliers’ leadoff hitter Aidan Teel delivered a walk-off RBI single in the ninth, completing Virginia’s rally from a four-run deficit.
Matt Lanzendorfer (4-2) earned the win for Virginia after tossing 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief. Miami’s Brian Walters (2-3) took the loss, allowing two earned runs over the final 1 2/3 innings.
Sophomore Daniel Cuvet opened the scoring for Miami by launching a towering 423-foot solo home run to left-center in his first at-bat to give the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead.
Virginia would storm back in the bottom of the second as Aiden Teel delivered a two-out bases-clearing double that snuck its way down the left field line. Teel’s double with bases loaded quickly put Virginia back into the driver’s seat, moving the score to 3-1.
But the Miami offensive attack didn’t stop in the first with Cuvet’s 14th home run of the season, because in the third, senior Dorian Gonzalez Jr. came through with an RBI single that drove in Jake Ogden from third to trim Virginia’s lead to 3-2.
Tanner Smith then registered a walk to load the bases with two outs, setting the stage for Evan Taveras, who showed patience on a 3-1 count and drew a walk of his own. The free pass brought home Max Galvin and tied the game at three.
Redshirt junior Renzo Gonzalez followed by battling through a full count before delivering the biggest swing of the evening for Miami. With two outs and the bases still loaded, Gonzalez crushed a grand slam to right field, marking his first home run of the season and putting Miami ahead 7-3.
The Cavaliers showed fight in the bottom of the third as Henry Godbout drove in Henry Ford with an RBI groundout. However, Miami responded in the top of the fourth when Dorian Gonzalez Jr. lifted a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Michael Torres and preserving the Hurricanes’ four-run lead at 8-4.
Virginia clawed its way back into the game by holding Miami scoreless over three consecutive innings while chipping away at the deficit. The Cavaliers added a run in the fifth, sixth and seventh frames, fueled by a pair of RBI singles and a solo home run from Henry Godbout, making it 8-7 in the bottom of the seventh.
After surrendering the home run, Miami reliever Carson Fischer walked the next batter, prompting the Hurricanes to make another call to the bullpen. Left-hander Rob Evans entered and recorded two quick outs to limit the damage, but Virginia kept the pressure on when Brian Walters took the mound, as the right-hander issued back-to-back walks to load the bases.
Moments later, Walters hit Eric Becker with a pitch, allowing the tying run to score and evening the game at 8-8. Walters responded with a strikeout to end the inning, but the Cavaliers had all the momentum after rallying from a four-run deficit heading into the eighth.
Miami regained the lead in the top of the eighth when Dorian Gonzalez Jr. lined a single up the middle, bringing home Jake Ogden to put the Hurricanes ahead, 9-8, but Virginia quickly responded. On the first pitch of the bottom of the ninth, Virginia designated hitter Harrison Didawick launched a solo home run to tie the game at 9-9. Miami reliever Brian Walters then issued a walk to James Nunnallee, who advanced to second on a stolen base.
Luke Hanson followed with a groundout that moved Nunnallee to third with one out, and Teel capped the comeback with a walk-off single to right field, lifting the Cavaliers to a 10-9 victory.
The series finale between Miami and Virginia is set for Sunday at 1 p.m., with live coverage available on ACCNX and WVUM 90.5 FM.
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