The Miami Hurricanes defeated cross-town rival FIU 10-3 in the opening game of the Battle of the 305 series, maintaining their perfect 6-0 record in midweek contests this season. The Hurricanes improved to 15-6 overall while FIU dropped to 7-15 on the season. Miami left-hander Jake Dorn earned the win in relief, working 3 innings without allowing a run or hit while striking out 4 batters.
Miami wasted no time establishing dominance, with Derek Williams launching a three-run home run in the first inning to give the Hurricanes a 3-0 lead. Williams’ blast was his eighth home run of the season, bringing home Daniel Cuvet, who had singled, and Alex Sosa, who had walked. The Panthers responded immediately in the bottom half of the inning with a solo home run from Cooper Rasmussen, cutting Miami’s lead to 3-1.
FIU managed to tie the game at 3-3 through the fourth inning, but two of their three runs came due to poor field conditions in the outfield. Dylan Dubovik lost his footing in left field during the third inning, resulting in one run, while Williams slipped and dropped the ball in right field during the fourth inning, leading to another Panthers run. The Panthers’ only legitimate run came from Rasmussen’s solo home run in the first inning.
Miami regained control in the fifth inning, plating 3 runs on 4 hits to break the deadlock. Vance Sheahan reached on a bunt single and Jake Ogden followed with a single to put runners at first and second. Cuvet delivered a two-run single to left field, bringing home both Ogden and Sheahan, before Sosa added an RBI double to left-center, scoring Cuvet and pushing the Hurricanes to a 6-3 lead.
With his two RBIs in the fifth inning, Cuvet moved into a tie for ninth place with Frank Dominguez on Miami’s all-time career RBI list with 186 RBIs. The Hurricanes collected 11 hits in the victory, with multiple hits from Cuvet, Brylan West, and Sheahan, who each recorded two hits. The team also hit doubles by Sosa and Alonzo Alvarez, complementing Williams’ home run.
Miami put the game away in the eighth inning, scoring 3 runs on 3 hits to extend their lead to 10-3. West started the rally with a single before Alvarez followed with a double to put two runners in scoring position. Dubovik lifted a sacrifice fly to bring home West, and after Sheahan worked a walk, Fabio Peralta delivered an RBI single to score Alvarez, with Ogden capping the inning with a sacrifice fly to center, plating Sheahan.
The pitching staff showed improvement after a disappointing weekend series against Duke. Sebastian Santos-Olson started for Miami but gave up all three FIU runs, though field conditions contributed to his struggles. The bullpen performed effectively, with Dorn carrying the bulk of relief work and Lyndon Guidewell looking impressive with 3 strikeouts. Ryan Bilka closed out the game, needing only 8 pitches to seal the victory.
FIU’s Jeremy Urena was tagged with the loss after surrendering the go-ahead run in the fifth inning. The Panthers, who entered the game with a 0-3 Conference USA record, managed to keep pace early but couldn’t match Miami’s offensive surge in the middle innings. Andrew Ildefonso contributed a sacrifice fly in the third inning, and Trey Freeman hit an RBI single in the fourth to tie the game at 3-3.
The Hurricanes will return home to Mark Light Field after a five-game road stretch, hosting Creighton for a three-game series starting Friday at 7 p.m. The series against Creighton represents an important opportunity for Miami to build momentum in conference play after struggling to a 2-4 ACC record this season.