Hurricanes Baseball Faces Defining Stretch Amid Up-and-Down Season, With Regional Host Still Attainable

It’s been a bit of a strange year for the Miami Hurricanes baseball team. As in difficult to figure out if this team is for real or not. Because we’ve seen fits and starts of really good things … and then sort of inexplicable hiccups. How do you explain winning six weekend series in a row … but not sweeping a single one of them other than vs. lower level Creighton? That’s how you currently have a not-dominant 12-9 ACC record (7-5 at home). Still, that record is good enough for tied for fourth in a competitive ACC that has eight teams within 2.5 games of Miami. The Canes trail Georgia Tech (19-5 in the ACC), UNC (17-7) and BC (16-8).

Star 3B Daniel Cuvet Out Indefinitely With Stress Fracture

While the Canes’ 32-12 record seems outstanding and worthy of a decent national ranking (by comparison No. 14 BC is 33-14 overall), a reason Miami isn’t in the conversation too much ranking-wise/as a regional host right now is because eight of those wins were easy gimmes vs. Lehigh, Indiana State and Lafayette.

Baseball America’s poll has four ACC teams ranked – North Carolina No. 2, Georgia Tech No. 4, BC No. 14 and FSU No. 17 after getting swept at Stanford. USA Today’s coaches poll has Miami among others receiving votes at 27th.

“I’m happy the position we’re in,” coach J.D. Arteaga said. “We’re still in position to play well and win some games here late and host a regional. I think being a top 8 seed is probably beyond us right now, but hosting a regional is a reality. We have this road trip to NC State, at home with Louisville, then Florida State on the road, the ACC Tournament. The (strength of) schedule is working against us a little bit, we don’t make the schedule up, missed Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Virginia. We have a chance to (maybe play them in the tournament), beat one or two of those guys and our record and strength of schedule goes up high enough we have a chance to host. It’s on us. We’ve lost some games we shouldn’t have lost, that always eats at you a little bit. But I like where we’re at.”

Don’t blink now but UM faces NC State this weekend, then Louisville and FSU are the team’s final three series before the ACC Tournament.

“We are nowhere near playing our best baseball right now,” Arteaga said. “It’s exciting (that the potential to play better is there). … We are winning some games, winning some series.

“We are winning series but haven’t been consistent. … Two games is the longest losing streak we’ve had. That’s the sign of a team that perseveres, comes back from bad games.”

Entering the season the perception was the bats would lead Miami. But in eight of the last14 games the team had four or less runs.

In other words, the pitching has been faring well over this stretch of the season after early struggles.

“Our starting pitching has been very good, our bullpen has gotten better,” Arteaga says.

Miami’s hitting .303 as a team led by Derek Williams (.386, team high 14 home runs), Alex Sosa (.323, 11 HRs), Brylan West (.322, 5 HRs), Jake Ogden (.311, 5 HRs) and Daniel Cuvet (.305, 12 HRs). But as we reported yesterday, Cuvet is out indefinitely with a stress facture in his back. Freshman Gabriel Milano is replacing him.

“Offensively we are not swinging the bat well, are hitting around the .245 mark over the last 15 games or so,” Arteaga said. “That’s supposed to be our strength. … Once the bats do start clicking, that’s going to be exciting times.”

Asked about Williams as the team’s leading hitter, Arteaga said, “It’s no surprise what he’s doing. Last year he was our best hitter half the season, got hurt with a hamstring. He went down for six weeks, had surgery. Came back really quick, had some big hits in the postseason. … Just continued hitting this year, picked up right where he left off before the injury.”

On the mound the team has been going with Rob Evans (8-2, 3.05 ERA, 10 starts) as the Friday night starter, Lazaro Collera (3-2, 3.58 ERA, 8 starts) on Saturday and AJ Ciscar (4-3, 3.79 ERA, 10 starts) on Sunday.

Evans is dealing with an ankle injury, though, so this weekend the team will go with him as the Sunday starter to give him extra rest (“we feel pretty good that he is going to be okay to go on Sunday,” Arteaga said), with Collera taking the start on Friday and Ciscar Saturday. If Evans can’t go, it would be TJ Coats starting on Sunday (3.75, 5-2 record, 14 appearances, four spot starts).

“We’ve always had good enough stuff, it was about getting guys in the right positions, the right roles,” Arteaga said.

Jake Dorn has been a key bullpen guy (3.00 ERA, 5-0 record, 22 appearances, 24 IP) along with Coats.

“(Coats) has pitched really well mid-week as a starter and has done a good job (in the bullpen),” Arteaga says.

With earlier issues at closer with Ryan Bilka (4.50 ERA, 2-0, 4 saves; now in a setup role) struggling, the team saw Lyndon Glidewell (3.38 ERA, 3-0) get his second save in the Sunday game last series vs. Cal.

“Glidewell is taking that closer role and really ran with it,” Arteaga said. “It excites him. You look at his stuff, he shouldn’t be our closer (but a starter instead). But he has the mentality. He takes the ball and has no fear, man. He pitches without any concern about outcome, concentrates on making his pitch. That’s what you need as a closer.”

Arteaga also said Nick Robert will be back next week off injury, and Frank Menendez is also getting healthy.

“Those guys are nice pieces to have,” Arteaga said.

A final takeaway from Arteaga?

That’s on former Cane Alex Cora, who was roommates with Arteaga when they played at UM.

“He’s in a good place (after being let go by the Red Sox),” the Cane coach said. “He could have been in Philadelphia, it’s no secret the relationship Alex and (Dave) Dombroski have – he decided he’s going to be with the family more. He’s getting married in November next year, his daughter is graduating here next weekend. So he would have missed graduation and (has to) plan a wedding. He has two young boys. He’s in a good place. He’ll manage in the Big Leagues very soon.”