Freshmen stars and right-handed pitcher Lazaro Collera lead the Miami Hurricanes into a high-stakes rematch against Boston College, seeking redemption for regular-season losses.
Miami, FL. – Following a couple of dominant performances from freshman catcher Alonzo Alvarez offensively and senior left-handed pitcher Rob Evans on the mound against Stanford, the Miami Hurricanes advanced to the ACC Baseball Tournament quarterfinals. They’re set to face the Boston College Eagles. Both teams faced off this past regular season, with the Northeast program taking the series.
However, months have passed since the matchup, and an opportunity is presented for the Hurricanes to rewrite a wrong. It’s another big test ahead of the NCAA Tournament.
Game Notes:
In the previous three regular-season games, the Hurricanes gathered an early lead, but it wasn’t sustainable throughout nine innings. The Eagles finished with fewer hits but made the plays necessary to score more runs. It’s another game that will likely come down to which pitching staff executes better.
In the second round, the Hurricanes’ freshmen, Alvarez, Dylan Dubovik, and Gabriel Milano, led the charge past Stanford. They combined for six of the team’s 12 hits and scored six of the 11 total runs. Despite the absence of junior All-American third baseman Daniel Cuvet, who is still sidelined due to a back stress fracture, there have been other significant contributions offensively.
Eagles first baseman Nick Wang poses as a big threat in the lineup. In 56 regular-season games, he’s logged 63 hits in 206 at-bats, 11 doubles, and a triple, 46 runs scored, a team-leading 16 home runs, 61 runs batted in, a .306 batting average, and a .602 slugging percentage. The 23-year-old earned All-ACC Third Team honors.
In Tuesday’s media availability, coach J.D. Arteaga stated that sophomore right-handed pitcher Lazaro Collera will start on the mound against the Eagles. When he previously faced them in the regular season, it was in a reliever role. The Miami native is coming off a subpar performance against the Florida State Seminoles: 2.2 innings pitched, giving up four hits and five runs, four bases on balls, and a wild pitch.
Collera will have an opportunity to bounce back and regain momentum ahead of the NCAA Tournament.
Statistically, the Eagles have one of the more below-average offenses in the Atlantic Coast Conference. However, they got the best of the Hurricanes before.
Anything can happen in the postseason.
Injury Report:
The Hurricanes ruled out Cuvet and junior right-handed pitcher TJ Coats.
The Eagles ruled out sophomore infielder Sean Martinez and freshman right-handed pitcher Luke D’Ancona. Freshman catcher Easton Masse is listed as a game-time decision.
How to Watch:
The game will be streamed on the ACC Network and the ESPN app at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
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