Sosa, Williams Lead Hurricanes Past Mountain Hawks
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Miami Hurricanes baseball team clinched the series Saturday night, defeating the Lehigh Mountain Hawks baseball 17-11 at Mark Light Field at Alex Rodriguez Park. Alex Sosa and Derek Williams led the charge, each tallying two home runs on the evening.
Right-hander TJ Coats (1-0) earned the victory in relief, tossing 3 1/3 innings and allowing one run on one hit while striking out five. Coats entered in the fourth inning and stabilized the game after Lehigh had trimmed the deficit, keeping the Hurricanes in front while the offense continued to build separation.
Lehigh starter Cole Leaman (0-1) was charged with the loss after surrendering six runs, none being earned, on four hits over one inning.
The Mountain Hawks struck first, capitalizing on a passed ball before adding a two-run homer later in the inning to build an early 3-0 advantage over the Hurricanes.
Miami responded in emphatic fashion, erupting for six runs in the bottom half of the inning to seize control.
Williams ignited the rally with a full-count sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Max Galvin. Moments later, Daniel Cuvet crossed the plate on a passed ball to trim the deficit further. With the bases loaded, Vance Sheahan delivered a crushing blow, driving a ball into the right-center gap for a three-run triple that swung the momentum firmly in Miami’s favor.
Michael Torres capped the six-run outburst with an RBI single, extending the surge that flipped the game in Miami’s favor. After a nearly 40-minute bottom of the first inning, Miami had turned a three-run deficit into a 6-3 lead.
The momentum carried into the next frame, and Miami showed no signs of slowing down.
Newcomer catcher Alex Sosa added to the surge with a solo home run on a full count, and Derek Williams followed immediately with a solo shot of his own. The back-to-back blasts pushed the Hurricanes’ lead to 8-3 and further energized the crowd at Mark Light Field.
The Mountain Hawks added a pair of runs to move the score to 8-5 in the top of the sixth, but Brylan West issued a sacrifice fly to left field to give Miami an insurance run, pushing the score to 9-5.
Sosa and Williams delivered the first dose of Mark Light Magic in the 2026 season, as the pair stepped to the plate and, for the second time Saturday night, launched back-to-back home runs to ignite the crowd and widen Miami’s advantage, 12-5, at the end of the fifth.
Lehigh continued to battle late, but Miami answered with additional insurance, plating three runs in the seventh inning and two more in the eighth to maintain control and secure its first series victory of the season.
The Hurricanes will aim for a series sweep Sunday at noon at Mark Light Field. The game will be broadcast on ACCNX and carried locally on WVUM 90.5 FM.
To stay up to date with the University of Miami baseball team, be sure to follow @canesbaseball on Instagram, X and Facebook.
