CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – Powered by two home runs and six RBI from freshman Daniel Cuvet, the No. 11-seeded Miami Hurricanes defeated the No. 7-seeded Louisville Cardinals, 8-5, in game one of the 2024 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Championship at Truist Field in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The top three hitters of the Miami batting order went a combined 7-for-12 with six RBI and six runs scored, as the Hurricanes led from start to finish in an 8-5 win over Louisville on Tuesday.
Cuvet led the Hurricanes at the plate, going 3-for-6 with two home runs, six RBI and two runs scored. Lucas Costello was 2-for-5 with a solo home run, while Jacoby Long and Edgardo Villegas had two hits each in the win.
With his two home runs on the day, Cuvet tied Pat Burrell for the most home runs by a freshman in a single season in Miami history with 23.
Louisville’s top three hitters in the lineup were a combined 8-for-13 offensively, with two home runs, three doubles, four RBI and four runs scored in the loss. Leadoff hitter JT Benson was 3-for-3 with a home run, a double, a walk, a hit-by-pitch, an RBI and three runs scored, while designated hitter Zion Rose was 3-for-5 at the plate with a home run, a double, two RBI and a run scored.
Picking up the win on the mound for the Canes was Rafe Schlesinger (5-5), as the starter held Louisville to three runs on six hits and five strikeouts over 5.2 innings of work. Myles Caba earned his fourth save of the season, recording five strikeouts over 3.1 innings of work out of the bullpen.
Miami jumped out to an early lead, as back-to-back singles were followed by a three-run home run to right field off the bat of Cuvet just three batters into the game to put the visiting team up 3-0 in the first inning.
After Louisville stranded two runners on base in the bottom of the first inning, the Cardinals got into the scoring column in the bottom of the third frame on an RBI double off the bat of Dylan Hoy. The Cardinals’ third baseman deposited a shot into the left-field corner to score Benson from first base and bring Louisville within two at 3-1.
The Cardinals cut the Miami lead in half on a long solo home run to left-center field from Benson in the bottom of the fifth inning, only to see the Hurricanes get the run back in the top of the sixth on a solo home run of their own from Costello to push the lead back out to two at 4-2.
Following a two-out walk, Miami’s JD Urso singled to left-center field to plate Lorenzo Perez before Antonio Jimenez was thrown out at the plate trying to score from first base on a bang-bang play to end the half inning with the Hurricanes on top 5-2.
The ball continued to fly out of the ballpark in the bottom half of the inning, as Louisville’s Rose belted a solo home run to right field to put the Cardinals back to within two at 5-3 through six innings.
Miami’s freshman Cuvet struck again in the top of the seventh inning, this time with a three-run blast off the top of the video board in left field to extend the Hurricanes’ lead to five at 8-3 heading into the seventh-inning stretch.
The Cardinals would strand a base runner in the seventh and eighth frames but fought to the end, plating two runs on a solo home run from Napleton and an RBI double by Rose before a ground out to first base ended the rally with the final score at 8-5.
Miami (25-29) will play No. 2 seed Clemson on Thursday, May 23, at 11 a.m., while Louisville (32-23) will take on No. 2 Clemson on Friday, May 24, at 3 p.m. as part of Pool B.
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