Pitching struggles as UM drops both games in tourney

The Hurricanes’ trip to the ACC tournament ended in disappointment.

Instead of leaving Charlotte, North Carolina, with the program’s first tournament title since 2008, No. 3 Miami dropped its games against No. 10 NC State 9-6 on Wednesday and No. 6 Wake Forest 16-3 on Friday in a seven-inning, run-rule loss.

“Just a very disappointing way to finish playing in the tournament here,” coach Gino DiMare said.

The long ball doomed the Hurricanes in their two games. After surrendering four home runs — three to designated hitter Tommy White — to the Wolfpack, Hurricanes pitchers struggled again against the Demon Deacons, surrendering seven home runs on Friday.

“I didn’t see too many uncomfortable swings in the two games we played,” DiMare said. “There were a lot of free swings.”

After Miami jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead on a home run by first baseman CJ Kayfus, Wake Forest teed off on UM pitching. The Demon Deacons scored six runs in the top of the third and added three more in the fourth inning.

The Hurricanes tried to get back into the game, scoring a run in the third inning and the fifth to cut the deficit to six. But Wake Forest put its foot down, scoring seven runs in the sixth and seventh inning to secure a run-rule victory with a 13-run lead.

Despite struggling at the ACC tournament, Miami’s season is not over. The Hurricanes will likely host a regional in the NCAA tournament, which starts on June 3. Miami will learn where it is seeded and who it will play during the tournament selection show Monday afternoon.

“We lost 20-5 to Clemson this year, then won 14 games in a row,” DiMare said. “It’s baseball. You’re going to have to pick yourselves up. There’s no doubt our guys are down. I could kind of see it on their faces before the game. Something didn’t quite seem right; the body language wasn’t quite what I’d like. I was saying something to them — of course they assured me they were fine.

“There’s a little funk we’re going through right now, but we’ve got an unbelievable opportunity. Everybody’s 0-0 starting on Friday.”