Miami got the first seven innings it needed Thursday night against Florida State. Then, the Hurricanes let a commanding lead turn into a brutal extra-innings loss.
Miami blew a 6-1 lead and lost 7-6 in 11 innings at Florida State. The Hurricanes were nine outs from stealing the opener against a ranked rival on the road. Instead, they watched Florida State erase the gap with two homers in the eighth, a sacrifice fly and two-run homer in the ninth, and a walk-off bases-loaded walk in the 11th.
Rob Evans gave Miami seven strong innings, allowing one run on six hits while striking out seven. Alonzo Alvarez’s three-run homer in the fourth gave the Hurricanes separation, and RBI from Gabriel Milano, Derek Williams and Alex Sosa pushed the lead to five runs by the seventh.
The collapse started in the eighth, when Florida State got solo home runs from John Stuetzer and Brayden Dowd to cut the lead to 6-3. In the ninth, Carter McCulley brought home one run on a sacrifice fly, and Eli Putnam tied the game with a two-run homer that wiped out the rest of Miami’s cushion. The whole feel of the night changed.
After blowing that lead, the game ended about as badly as it could for Miami. Florida State loaded the bases, and Sebastian Santos-Olson allowed the winning run to score with a walk. For a Hurricanes team that came into the weekend still trying to prove it belonged in the upper tier of the ACC, it was the worst possible way to let a winnable game disappear.
Perhaps the most frustrating part is that Miami’s best pieces actually showed up. Alvarez finished 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBI. Sosa, Williams and Jake Ogden all had two hits. Evans looked like the steady veteran Miami needed on a night like this. The offense did enough early to put Florida State on the ropes, but Miami did not add on late, and the bullpen could not protect the lead once the game moved into the late innings.
If Miami wants this trip to matter for anything beyond regret, the response has to be immediate. Game 2 against Florida State starts at 6 p.m. ET Friday.
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