Miami baseball hangs on to pull out 6-5 win over FIU to take season series over crosstown foe
MIAMI — The Hurricanes started their final week of the regular season off on the right foot.
With timely hitting and crucial stops on the mound, Miami downed its crosstown foe FIU, 6-5, Tuesday evening.
The Hurricanes (24-27) stormed out to an early 2-0 advantage in the first, as infielders Daniel Cuvet and Dorian Gonzalez Jr. each plated tallies with base hits in the opening frame.
FIU (25-26) answered back with runs in both the second and third frames, before taking its lone lead of the night on Ryne Guida’s sacrifice fly in the fifth.
Miami responded by scoring in each of the next three innings and the Hurricanes’ bullpen held off the late rally to lock down the win.
Junior Edgardo Villegas plated the go-ahead run in the seventh with a bases-loaded walk.
Freshman right-hander Brandon Olivera (2-0) earned the victory in relief, striking out a career-high six across a career-long 3 1/3 innings.
Fifth-year redshirt sophomore southpaw Myles Caba (2) recorded the save with a scoreless ninth.
With the victory, the Hurricanes have won 12 of their last 13 contests against the Panthers.
Miami will close out its regular season slate with the Pitt Panthers at Mark Light Field. The three-game set is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Thursday.
