2023 HURRICANES BASEBALL

In the second week of the fall preseason, We got the opportunity to get a second look at 4 of our pitchers from last week. A noticeable improvement in all 4 in their productivity. The hitting was a reflection of better control from our pitching crew. Eight hits punched out, three of them for doubles, but the string of HRs was snapped. While Lorenzo Carrier was unable to find downtown after punching out 4 last week, he was one of the four to get an extra-base hit coming at his first at-bat. Had the distance but fell short at the RF fence. A couple of spectacular plays that could have easily made for a Kodak moment one coming from Antonio Jimenez playing short and the other by Jake Kulikowski in right. At times, defensive plays had me shaking my head and a bit too many WPs which needs more attention. A concern I had last week was the inability of JT Caruso not being able to keep his hat on after every pitch. I am happy to report that this is no longer an issue of concern. One last note I inquired as to the availability of Brian Walters since he has yet to pitch. He is in uniform and I have been told that he is throwing but will probably not throw any pitches from the mound until spring. They don’t want to be premature and want to make sure he is 100% recovered from Tommy John surgery which occurred last preseason.

Scheduled for 8 innings got to see only 6 innings, four pitchers, each throwing 3 innings. First up Jordan Vargas and Nick Robert. Jordan got off to a shaky start but caught a break when Jacoby Long called out for leaving third early on a SF to left. Easily beat the throw home after singling to start off the inning, stealing second and advancing to third on a wild pitch. That was the closest the offense came to putting runs on the board. Had another WP in the second advancing Jake Kulikowski who walked but a pair of strikeouts kept him honest. Easy third inning with a 3up/3down conclusion to his day.

Nick was not as fortunate with his WP in the first after walking AJ Goytia with one out. With AJ on second, Lorenzo Carrier who has had the hottest bat this preseason takes it to the wall for a double, scoring AJ. Daniel Cuvet tried to follow Carrier with his own double, overslid second, and was not able to reach back to second before being tagged out. Nothing to report in the second and a pair of walks in the third failed to generate a run. Overall commendable performance by both pitchers in their second start.

Back half of the scrimmage JT Caruso and Chris Diaz got their second opportunity to improve on their performance. JT had the opportunity to concentrate on his pitching and not have to worry about his cap flying off. Either a bigger cap or a smaller head of hair. JT put up zeroes across the board with 4 strikeouts, just one walk, without a single hit. Keep that cap on.

Chris Diaz who had problems in his first appearance giving up 5 runs settled for two today both coming in his first inning (4th) with a pair of back-to-back doubles by Eric Fernandez and Lucas Costello (2RBIs). After a very shaky first inning which also included a single and a walk, the next two innings he settled down without giving up another run. None of his innings went easy and of the four pitchers today, he finished a distant 4th. Although a better showing, he will need to show improvement next week or it might be a long season in the BP

Hitting wise one person with a pair of hits, Daniel Cuvet, both singles. Three with extra bases, all doubles(Lucas Costello,Lorenzo Carrier,Eric Fernandez). No claim today for a downtown ticket.

Tomorrow is scheduled for 8, but I am guessing more likely to see what we had today being another 6-inning venture. The start time is 4PM. I will check tomorrow if there is a time change and will notify you of the same.