Mike Kaffee
Hurricanes Baseball Reporter
[email protected]
The Bull Pen threw 7 shutout innings, taking game 4 where hitting came at a premium and the pitching was a standout. Ashton Crowther needed help from his BP as he struggled not being able to make it through the 3rd inning. In his last three appearances as the mid-week starter, he has not been able to get beyond the 3rd inning. Fortunately for tonight, the BP answered the call only allowing one hit in relief. Jordan Vargas, his third appearance of the season due to injury came in the third after back-to-back singles leading off the third to shut the Owls down. Jordan, on a pitch count, pitched 2 hitless innings before turning the ball over to Brandon Olivera to start the 5th. Brandon’s time was curtailed quickly after loading the bases after 16 pitches. JD did not hesitate to bring in Myles Caba to cage the Owls before further damage could be done. Miami at the time was holding onto a one-run lead. Myles showed he was the Bird Master shutting them down for 3.2 innings only allowing a single base runner to reach base (walk-8th) before Nick Robert closed it out with 11 pitches striking out two. Miami wins 5-2 making it two straight wins for the Canes and splitting the 4 game series with FAU.
Ashton Crowther, our mid-week starter for now, got off to a turbulent start, and for the third straight week, it appeared his time on the mound was numbered. A lead-off double started the clock ticking. Jalen Debose, the team leader with 8 steals, stole second and the throw-down went into center and scored as a result. One out walk to Patrick Ward set up the second steal of the inning and like the first an error on the throw from Scanlon had a runner on third. RBI single for the second run and fans were once again getting uneasy and it is only the first inning. Miami would have to wait until the 4th inning to come up with a response.
Ashton settled down in the second only to give up back-to-back singles to lead off the 3rd. Not waiting, JD did not hesitate to go to the BP bringing in Jordan Vargas who has not pitched since March 2nd in the second game against Florida where he only pitched 1 inning before leaving with an injury. With 2 men on, the first batter faced he struck out getting the next two to fly out to right. On a pitch count, JD kept Jordan in to pitch the 4th not allowing a hit but walked two.
The bats silent through the first 3 innings without a hit, finally came out of the closet in the 4th with Jacoby Long opening the inning with a walk. Back-to-back doubles by Edgardo and Daniel were not only our first hits but also our first runs as they exchanged positions on the bag. The third run came about with runners on the corners (ground out, walk) JD decided to play matchup pinch hitting Scanlon for Perez. Makes no sense, a 311 hitter for a 220 hitter. Carlos was not up there to hit away but to lay down a squeeze bunt which had positive results in the catcher dropping the ball, as the runner, ball, and catcher came together at the plate. JD probably felt Carlos was a better bunter. Miami takes the lead 3-2.
The 5th Miami built added an insurance run with Jacoby’s RBI single scoring Torres from first who led off the inning with a walk. Miami with a 2-run lead was enough as the BP took charge caging the Bird for 8 straight innings. To be on the safe side, the Canes tacked on one additional run in the 7th with a SF by Edgardo bringing home JD Urso who led off the 7th with a walk advancing to 2nd on a WP and to 3rd on an APO by the pitcher which sent the ball into CF.
Tonight it was all BP with a little help from their friends. Myles Caba excelled on the mound with his longest outing (3.2 innings) not allowing a hit and Nick Robert doing what he is supposed to do: retiring the Owls in order.
Offensively, it was a ho-hum day with the bat. A pair of doubles (Edgardo,Daniel) back-to-back was the only firepower tonight. These were our first hits of the night which did not come until the 4th inning. As a team, we only batted .200 striking out 7 times. Our opponents had their wings clipped only batting .161.
Defensively, two mishaps both from throwing errors by Scanlon coming in the first inning. The game’s defensive play came for Jacoby Long in the 8th on a sinking line drive with extra bases written on it if not caught.
The team will have to elevate their game to a much higher level if they expect to come away on the positive side this weekend against Georgia Tech. Tonight we celebrate our second win in a row. The bats need to come out of the closet and stay there if we can expect to have any chance. The first pitch is in Atlanta on Friday 6PM.
