Miami Hurricanes, FIU Panthers square off in Round 2 of Battle for 305

Miami, Florida – It’s now Round 2 of 2022’s edition of the Battle for the 305 between the Miami Hurricanes and FIU Panthers. The first bout saw the Panthers take a very early lead, managing to hold it for a majority of the game before the pitching imploded in the seventh. Miami’s bats came alive rattling off nine runs for the 12-5 victory. Nearly a month later, a lot has happened for these two teams as the venue now switches to Coral Gables.

Standing at the midway point of the season, the crosstown rivals look to add to their win totals with each team well aware of its expectations heading into the second half. Although they hail from different conferences, momentum and bragging rights are on the line.

What’s happened since

The two programs have gone on wildly different trajectories. FIU (10-17, 3-6 CUSA) was in the midst of an ugly losing streak that stretched to 11 games before taking two of three from lowly Marshall. The uplifting performance versus the Thundering Herd proved fleeting as the Panthers were thoroughly dominated in Ruston. Following the disastrous series at Louisiana Tech, Florida International hosted Old Dominion dropping the series despite an excellent 13-3 win at the opener.

Never satisfied. Respect is earned, not given. pic.twitter.com/nsYKIYuaOr

— Canes Baseball (@CanesBaseball) April 4, 2022

UM, meanwhile, has gone on a tear dominating conference play. The Canes (21-6, 10-2 ACC) are four-for-four against ACC opponents taking two out of three versus Boston College and at No. 15 Clemson before back-to-back sweeps of No. 13 North Carolina and Duke. The Hurricanes did drop their midweek contest at UCF 10-5 but dominated FAU late the following week 7-1 and outlasted FGCU 11-7. After falling out of the rankings Miami has surged back in at No. 8.

Players to watch

Miami

Jacob Burke

The transfer from Southeastern Louisiana went 2-for-3 scoring twice, knocking in four during the first meeting. Fast-forwarding to now, Jacob Burke is coming off a great weekend at Durham, going 5-for-13 (.384) which includes his fourth dinger of the season and a pair of RBIs to cap off a productive week. Hitting .333 for 2022 the sophomore looks to stay hot at the plate.

Burke blasted it OVER the 🐂

📺: https://t.co/bvzJtVs8Hh pic.twitter.com/OBFKfICSZO

— Canes Baseball (@CanesBaseball) April 2, 2022

Yohandy Morales

Slashing .320/.446/.573 Yoyo played his part at FIU Baseball Stadium going 2-or-5 including an RBI double in the seventh. Yohandy Morales’ two-bagger drove in Burke topping off the nine-run barrage. The super sophomore had fun at Duke batting .454 (5-for-11 with four walks) pushing across four. Morales should keep it going against Florida International’s pitching.

Yoyo clears the bases!!

📺: https://t.co/di43qLKEmZ pic.twitter.com/aPeUVqbTms

— Canes Baseball (@CanesBaseball) April 3, 2022

Dominic Pitelli

The hero of Friday night’s game, Dominic Pitelli hit a grand slam at the top of the eighth inning propelling the Hurricanes over the Blue Devils 4-1. Looking for an encore he pounded ANOTHER grand slam on Sunday. The big man recorded 10 RBIs against Duke bringing his season total to 22, the fourth most on the team. The dingers were his third and fourth of the year tying him for the second-most (with Burke and Maxwell Romero Jr.) among the squad. Who leads? The teammate above with five.

𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 ✍️

Dominic Pitelli became the first player in Miami Hurricanes history to smack two grand slams in a series! pic.twitter.com/YW3VzhCc0E

— Canes Baseball (@CanesBaseball) April 4, 2022

Florida International

Robert Sotolongo

The red-shirt sophomore knocked in the first run of the game back on March 8th and has since seen his average fall from .341 to .316. Buoyed by being one of the bright spots this past weekend versus Old Dominion, Robert Sotolongo still leads the team in batting average and is tied for first in steals (8). With an .858 OPS and .432 slugging (both second-best on the team), the Panthers will need him to keep it up while they figure out the woeful pitching.

FIU's Alec Sanchez hits his team-leading sixth double of the season, Adrian Figueroa walks on four pitches.

Roberto Sotolongo hits a ground ball past C.J. Kayfus for an RBI double. Still 2nd and 3rd for FIU with 1 away.

B1 | UM 0-1 FIU | #CanesBaseball

— Cal Friedman (@friedman_cal) March 9, 2022

Steven Ondina

Largely inconsequential at the plate during the first go, Steven Ondina has been swinging the bat well lately which is welcomed news. Until recently, Ondina was hitting below the proverbial Mendoza Line. Raising his average to .238 in the wake of the ODU series, the sophomore has a ways to go still in matching those freshman year numbers. He can get back on track now.

Too small. Too slow. Not athletic enough. Not smart enough. You’ll hear it all, but it’s just noise. 🙏🏽 #MakeItHappen #provethemwrong pic.twitter.com/fL9RdaiyL5

— Steven Ondina (@SAOD_2121) October 3, 2020

Alec Sanchez

The leader in several offensive categories, Alec Sanchez is very much one of the sparkplugs for the team. Leading in OPS (1.054), Runs (22), Hits (32), Doubles (7), Triples (3) Homers (8), and RBIs (29), Sanchez did all that he could versus the Monarchs scoring six times and driving in just as many on the strength of two home runs. If FIU has any remote chance of turning it around, Sanchez (and others) will need to continue to step up. A win over Miami can prove the push they need.

B4 | Alec Sanchez has now walked three times on the evening.

FIU 7, ODU 1#PawsUp 🐾 | #PantherPride

— FIU Baseball (@FIUBaseball) April 2, 2022

Prediction

Florida International will match Miami blow for blow at least initially. However, the No. 8 Canes will take care of business and sweep the 2022 home and home series. The blue and gold have the hitting there’s no doubt about that. But the arms cannot hope to contain a Hurricanes team firing on all cylinders. If Patrick Pridgen was on the mound, then it’s arguably a different story but seeing as this is a midweek game, the slated starter will likely have their hands full.

Final Score: UM 8, FIU 4