After 8-1 start to season, Miami Hurricanes now get first big test in Florida Gators
The Miami Hurricanes baseball team probably couldn't have envisioned a better start to the season.
A roster filled with 28 new faces — 14 freshmen and 14 transfers — has meshed together seamlessly. The pitching has been lights out. The lineup has depth, with most of its main contributors clicking early and the Hurricanes putting up crooked numbers more often than not.
All together, it has resulted in an 8-1 start to the season, with the lone blemish a 2-1 midweek loss to Florida Atlantic on Feb. 18.
'We've started off the season great,' said junior second baseman Dorian Gonzalez. 'We're clicking on all sides of the ball.'
Will this early success continue as the schedule gets more difficult? We're about to find out.
After cruising to big wins in their first two weekend series against Niagara and Princeton, the Hurricanes have their first big test of the season this weekend when they travel to Gainesville to play the Florida Gators, who are undefeated at 9-0 and ranked No. 8 nationally by D1Baseball.
'It's fun,' third baseman Daniel Cuvet said. 'It always gets the adrenaline going and the nerves up. We've got to stay focused, and we've got to pretend like we're facing a faceless opponent. That's kind of the mindset we've got to have.'
Miami will enter the series with confidence after its strong start to the season.
On the mound, the Hurricanes' pitching staff has combined for a 1.50 ERA and 111 strikeouts over 78 innings. Miami's projected weekend rotation of Nick Robert, Griffin Hugus and Brian Walters has a combined 1.09 ERA with 51 strikeouts against eight walks over 33 innings.
At the plate, the Hurricanes are collectively hitting .303 and have scored 86 runs through nine games. six regulars in the lineup are hitting at least .321 in shortstop Jake Ogden (.444), outfielder Max Galvin (.394), catcher Tanner Smith (.370), Gonzalez (.345), designated hitter Bobby Marsh (.333) and Cuvet (.321).
Marsh leads the team with 19 RBI, and six of his 10 hits have gone for extra bases.
Miami is also a perfect 16 for 16 on stolen bases.
'Right now, everything seems to be working,' Cuvet said. 'We can put guys wherever we want [in the lineup], and we know they're going to hit.'
That said, Miami's going to be tested this weekend against the Gators, who have outscored their opponents (weekend series against Air Force and Dayton, plus midweek wins over Jacksonville, Stetson and North Florida) 87-20, have slugged 15 home runs and have seven players with at least 30 plate appearances hitting at least .343.
'Florida is a great program,' Hurricanes coach J.D. Arteaga said. 'It's the type of program that you have to beat to get to you want to be. ... They're very talented and very good and well coached. It's a tough place to play, so it's a great challenge and to me a great opportunity to show the country what we're all about.'
For the Hurricanes, that means not putting extra pressure on themselves just because of the magnitude of the series. They want to stick with what has worked and hope the results will show.
'It's just another at bat. It's just another game,' said Galvin, who has safely reached base in all nine games so far this season. 'If they throw a pitch over the plate, it's gonna get hammered.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
an hour ago
- CBS News
Red Sox manager Alex Cora as frustrated as ever after team's 17th one-run loss of season
Red Sox manager Alex Cora has stayed relatively cool and level-headed amid the team's struggles this season. But on Tuesday night, following yet another one-run loss, Cora vented a lot of frustration with the 2025 Boston Red Sox. Boston's 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels in 10 innings was the team's 17th one-run defeat of the season, giving them the most in the Major Leagues. Those one-run losses account for half of the team's 34 losses this season. Boston is just 6-17 in those close affairs. But being so close -- yet so far -- from a win over and over and over again is only part of the frustration. The Red Sox are mostly doing this to themselves with mental mistakes in the field and on the basepaths, and poor execution at the plate. "We keep making the same mistakes, we're not getting better," Cora vented after Tuesday's loss. "At one point, it has to be on me, I guess, right? I'm the manager. I got to keep pushing them to get better. They're not getting better. They're not. We keep making the same mistakes. "I'm being very honest about it. Very open about it," Cora continued. "You get frustrated, but at some point it's like, 'OK, what are we going to do? What's going to change?' Because we keep doing the same thing. The same thing." The Red Sox are just 2-8 in their last 10 games. Five of those losses have been by one run. Cora would love to offer up a solution, but the skipper is at a loss himself. "Is it effort? Preparation? Attention to detail? I have no idea, man," said Cora. "I watched that game tonight and was like, 'Wow this is real.' It's frustrating." Three more errors by Red Sox Boston's horrendous defense seemed to really fan the flames of Cora's fire after Tuesday's loss. The Red Sox had three more errors in the game, and now have the most in the Majors with 53 in 63 contests. Boston's defense is even worse than that of the 11-win Rockies, though Colorado has racked up its 51 errors in 61 games. The Red Sox were fortunate that only one of Tuesday's errors proved costly. Ceddanne Rafaela is usually excellent in center, but his wild throw home on an RBI single by Zach Neto in the third inning allowed a pair of runners to move into scoring position. Both scored four pitches later to put the Angels on top 3-0. The Sox also made back-to-back miscues in the fifth, though only one was an error. Third baseman Abraham Toro made an errant throw to first on a grounder by Neto, which was ruled an infield single. The next batter, Nolan Schanuel, hit a grounder to Kristian Campbell that should have been a double play, but the rookie couldn't spin it and both runners were safe. Boston was fortunate to escape the inning without any damage, as starter Brayan Bello got Mike Trout to ground out and struck out the last two batters. Boston's third error came in the 10th inning when reliever Zack Kelly couldn't field a sac bunt by Schanuel to lead things off. Ghost runner Neto scored two batters later when Taylor Ward grounded into a double play, which was also a bit of a head-scratcher. Toro opted to go for the two outs instead of trying to cut down Neto at home, a curious decision given Boston's inability to manufacture runs throughout the game. Cora did not mince words about his team's defense after the loss. "Routine ground balls for double plays we don't turn, we throw to the wrong bases, we miss cutoff guys, PFPs (Pitcher Fielding Practice) were horrible. So there's a lot of bad right now," he said. The Red Sox have now committed more than one error in 16 games this season. Red Sox lack timely hitting Defense was not the only issue for the Red Sox on Tuesday -- or this season. On a night when Boston got a solid outing from Bello, the offense once again fell asleep. The Red Sox went just 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left 11 on base. Boston is batting .234 with runners in scoring position for the season, which ranks 22nd in baseball. They've struck out a MLB-high 171 times with runners in scoring position. Red Sox hitters strike out a ton in any situation, ranking third in the league with 582 punchouts. Boston had its chances throughout Tuesday's loss. Toro was thrown out at home in the second. The team had two in scoring position and no outs in the third after Jarren Duran doubled in Boston's first run, but the threat ended with Ks by Rafael Devers and Romy Gonzalez and a groundout by Toro. The Red Sox had two on and one out in the fourth, but got nothing out of it. With the game tied 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth, Campbell led off the inning with a walk and was lifted for pinch-runner David Hamilton, who stole second. But Duran didn't sacrifice Hamilton over to third, and instead popped out to center for the first out of the inning. (Hamilton did not tag up on the play either.) Hamilton didn't swipe third base until there were two outs in the frame, and that's where he stayed. Wilyer Abreu struck out for the inning's second out and Gonzalez grounded out to second to end the walk-off threat. Gonzalez was 0-for-4 on the night heading into the at-bat, but Cora left him in to face Kenley Jansen rather than pinch-hit rookie Marcelo Mayer. After Los Angeles took its 4-3 lead in the 10th, Boston went 1-2-3 with a pair of strikeouts in the bottom of the inning to end the game. With all the miscues and lack of timely hitting, the Red Sox are not giving themselves a chance to win ballgames. Cora was surprised the team was even in Tuesday's game with all their self-inflicted wounds. "Missed the cutoff guy, they score two, we hit the eighth hitter, we walk the ninth hitter, we didn't execute a bunt play, we didn't advance when we needed to. You can talk about chances. I can tell you the chances we gave the opposition," Cora said. "We were lucky to be in that game at the end, to be honest with you." Cora does have some job security after he signed a three-year extension last July, but it's time for the manager to start finding the answers to his team's issues. The Red Sox are now five games out of a Wild Card spot and 10 games behind the Yankees in the AL East, and are in serious jeopardy of falling out of contention -- and relevancy -- for a fourth straight summer.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Dolphins' Mike McDaniel comments on Jalen Ramsey trade progress
Dolphins' Mike McDaniel comments on Jalen Ramsey trade progress It feels like a matter of when and no longer if the Miami Dolphins will trade seven-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey. The Super Bowl LVI champion signed a three-year, $72.3 million contract extension in September of last year. But, Dolphins general manager Chris Grier revealed in an April press conference that the organization had decided it was in the best interest of all parties to part ways via a trade. Miami defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver confirmed in late May that a Ramsey trade was still in the works. On Tuesday, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel was asked from organized team activities if there's been any progress made on the Ramsey trade front. "I don't really check in on a day-to-day. Zero has changed from my end. I let Chris work, and I'm diligently coaching," McDaniel said from OTAs. It's not much of a departure from McDaniel's initial remarks on the Ramsey situation from Miami OTAs. "I'm really worried about the team, the players that will be out on the field today and that's about as much breath as I want to speak into it. "It is quite honestly, irresponsible for me to put down some of the thoughts and focus on the players that we're working now to build a performance for the season and concern myself with that. That's where I should be, I think," McDaniel said earlier on in Dolphins OTAs. The Dolphins currently have $13.8 million in effective cap space per Over The Cap, but a Ramsey trade would free up an additional $5.9 million with the post-June 1 designation per Spotrac. That extra money could be used to shore up the cornerback room or to help finalize a contract extension for tight end Jonnu Smith.
Boston Globe
5 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Patriots rookie Andres Borregales putting best foot forward early in kicking competition with veteran John Parker Romo
Advertisement It's no surprise to University of Miami special teams coordinator Danny Kalter, who predicts Patriots fans will 'fall in love' with the 5-foot-11-inch, 199-pound Borregales, who has a penchant for big kicks while earning the nickname 'Automatic Andy.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'He'll be talking [expletive] as a kicker and making big kicks and getting the crowd involved,' Kalter said of Borregales, who made 75 percent of his field goal chances from 50-plus over the last two seasons with the Hurricanes. 'He'll be as fun a kicker as you can root for. And his teammates will love him. He won't be hanging out over by the kicking net during the games. He's going to be in there, cheering on the offense and defense. 'I think from a fan perspective, they'll fall in love with his personality and his swagger. He doesn't carry himself as a prototypical kicker. And it's easy to fall for a guy like that when he's putting the ball between the uprights at the rate he does.' Advertisement Borregales has a résumé that suggests he could Andres Borregales connected on 86 percent of his field goal attempts at the University of Miami, including a career-high 94.7 percent as a senior. Adrian Kraus/Associated Press The 22-year-old Borregales, who acknowledged the history of New England's 'legendary kickers' when he spoke with reporters shortly after he was drafted, was the first kicker taken this year, 182nd overall. 'We decided to jump in there with Andres when we did, and feel pretty comfortable with that,' executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf said shortly after the pick was made. 'We felt like Andres was good value there, and he was a player that was ranked high on our board.' Kicking runs in the Borregales family. Andres is the younger brother of Jose Borregales, a fellow Miami alum and winner of the 2020 Lou Groza Award, given to the best college kicker in the country. Kalter said that's one reason Andres Borregales he has the mental and physical makeup to succeed in the NFL. 'The Patriots got a kid who is a great competitor,' Kalter said. 'Personality-wise, he's not your typical kicker. Andy proved himself that when he started playing, he was a football player first, and that propelled him to be the best kicker in the country last year. He's a fierce competitor with a great mind-set when it comes to letting missing go, and self-evaluation and all of it. Advertisement 'That comes from his family. His brother Jose was a great kicker, and Andy came right up in the same footsteps. That's the mind-set he brings to the job every day.' Related : Kalter said that if Borregales trusts the form he worked to craft the last few seasons, the Patriots' choice will pay dividends. 'He's the most complete kicker I've ever been around,' said Kalter. 'He just needs to trust in his leg and his incredible technique that he's honed the last few years. Just trust in himself. 'The Patriots don't just have a kicker. They have a true football player.' Christopher Price can be reached at
