BETHUNE-COOKMAN

Miami holds the Wildcats to just 4 hits in another losing effort 6-4.

No runs scored via the hit. All six runs are the result of walks and hit batters.  Starter Ashton Crowther was unable to find the strike zone, overstaying his time on the mound, and self-destructed in the 4th inning hitting two batters and walking another, all, with bases loaded. Miami fought back down three runs to tie the score in the 8th only to lose it in the 9th by walks and by incompetent defense. As bad as the pitching and defense was tonight, it ran hand and hand with the poorly executed offense that could not buy a hit when most needed. Missed opportunities, the story of this season, raised its ugly head once ahead in having runners in scoring position with no outs and unable to drive them home. Bad decision-making both on the field and off resulted in another mid-week loss.

Edgardo Villegas and Jason Torres were not in tonight’s lineup due to a one-game suspension by the NCAA for their ejection Saturday during the FSU game. Gaby Gutierrez replaced Edgardo in left and JD Urso for Jason at first. Both will return to the roster for the Louisville series.

Miami started having issues with starter Ashton Crowther in the first inning with his inability to find the strike zone. By the third inning already credited with 4 walks and 55 pitches you knew his time on the mound was not going to last much longer. Fortunate for the Canes, they gave him a run to work with on a 356′ liner to left field by Carlos Perez in the second inning. That would be the only hit by the Canes until Carrier, led off the 5th with a double.

Other than the 7 Apr debacle losing to Duke in the Cane’s worst played game ever, tonight’s 4th inning has to be ranked as the worst-pitched inning of this season or any season that can be recalled. Ashton already with 4 walks continued struggling into the 4th. He opened the inning by finally finding the zone striking out the lead-off batter only to come crashing down. JD was hoping to roll the dice hoping he would be able to work out of each pitch being called a ball but ended up throwing craps. Ashton walked the next batter, single, recording the second out, and walking to load the bases on a time violation call. Consecutive hit batters bring two runs in to give the Wildcats the lead and after walking his 7th batter and third run, JD finally decides enough is enough. Slow in responding not wanting to go to the BP but left with little choice. Ben Chestnutt, having lost his mid-week start to Ashton earlier in the season, was brought in to bail him out. Instead, the third hit batter and 4th run of the inning; all without a hit. 

Miami licking its wounds from a devastating 4th was unable to respond until the 7th inning. They had an opportunity in the 5th with a lead-off double and runners on the corners after a Gaby Gutierrez single only to end the inning on a Jimenez 6-4-3 DP. The second opportunity was lost in the 7th inning to break the game open. Miami already with two runs and a man on second, no outs, left stranded with three consecutive strikeouts. End of 7 Miami stumbles back to within a run. We can thank two errors by the Wildcats for making this possible. 

The Cardiac Canes trailing by one tied it in the 8th With an RBI single scoring Jacoby who opened the inning with a single and stole second.

JD decides to go with Nick Robert rather than staying with Brian Walters after he struck out the side in the 8th on 13 pitches. Nick, like Ashton has been struggling primarily from overuse and fatigue. He isn’t a closer in every sense of the word and JD needs to stop coddling Brian for he is the closest we have to being a REAL closer. 

Nick opens the 9th hitting the lead-off batter. Batter’s interference resulted in the out #1 on an attempted steal returning the runner back to first. SAC between first and the pitcher turned into a hit because JD charged the ball leaving first unattended. This is having someone playing the position he is unaccustomed to playing. When things go bad for the Canes it gets really bad. Men on 1st and 2nd no outs, a hard grounder to Cuvet at third, freezes with the ball, and rather than step on third holds onto the ball and does nothing. It is now BL and still no outs. Nick issues Miami’s 9th walk to give the lead back to the Wildcats and adds salt already to the pestering wound with Miami’s 10th walk and second run chalked up. After taking longer to make the decision, JD finally ends Nik’s once again collapse and brings in Myles Caba to shut things down. Damage is done and Miami needs, once again, to some way come up with Miracle Magic.

We have gone to the well once too often and the well for the Cardiac Canes comes up dry striking out twice with the final out coming on an unassisted out by their closer who knew how to close.

Offensively seven random hits with no player with multiple hits. The only hits for extra bases were Carlos Perez with his 2nd HR of the season coming in the second and Lorenzo Carrier with a lead-off double in the 5th which went nowhere. If we don’t have multiple HRs, there is little chance of moving runners on base with just singles.

Defensively, don’t be fooled with a zero for errors. Two poorly played defensive plays by our corners were wreckless. Both Torres, not lately, and Cuvet might be productive with the bat but their defensive play is much to be desired. This will come with more experience but for now just too many mistakes. JD Urso playing first for the second time after replacing Torres on Saturday after being ejected has a lot to learn at the position. The Canes have used no one else this season in the corner positions to start and when someone does come in it is reflected in their play. Dorian had the play of the game with a diving catch in the 5th robbing a sure hit.

Pitching was a disaster, to put it mildly. 10 Walks and 5 HPs are unacceptable. 6 runs on 4 hits just does not equate. We have no mid-week pitcher and we most assuredly have no closer. Too much responsibility and usage for two freshmen. Chestnutt has found a place in relief and made a heart-stopping catch in the 7th inches from getting hit in the head. If our starters don’t get us to the 6th, which JD hoped Crowther could have gotten us to, the BP is too inexperienced to get us to the finish line in a close game.

Miami has two days to regroup to come up with some game plan to not only win the series against Louisville but to sweep. Getting to the postseason is for all practical purposes history. They are holding onto a slim margin of not making it to the Tournament for the first time. With 4 ACC series left, there is no better time to turn things around than with Louisville this weekend. First pitch on Friday 7PM