Miami secured both ends of the doubleheader with scores of 14-4 and 14-3, winning the series and aiming for the sweep in tomorrow’s finale.

These games were extremely energetic, with the offense reaching such a high level that the scoreboard struggled to keep pace with the hits and runs being recorded at a remarkable rate. Over the doubleheader today, the Canes combined for twenty-eight runs on 22 hits, with both games concluding after seven innings under the Mercy Rule. In the early game, Daniel Cuvet led all batters, going 2-2 with a double, a home run, and two walks. In the second game, Dylan Dubovik, filling in for the injured Max Galvin in left field, delivered a spectacular performance, going 3-4 with two home runs—including a grand slam—and six RBIs. Dylan’s two home runs today add to the one he hit last night as a pinch hitter for Fabio, earning him a starting spot in today’s game. With this performance, Dylan has climbed to an impressive batting average of .857 (6-7). While Dylan stole the spotlight, other players like Alonzo Alvarez, Cian Copeland, Fabio Peralta, Jailen Watkins, Gab Milano, and Brandon DeGoti also made the most of their opportunities coming off the bench. The team is brimming with talent and is capitalizing quickly. Our regular starters are being reminded that if they sit out a game or two, someone else might step in and take their place. The reserves are aggressive and consistently delivering strong numbers.

While the bats lit up the field, the pitchers matched their energy, posting similar strikeout totals and shutting down Lafayette’s hitters. Rob Evans, making his season debut, recorded a career-high 10 strikeouts. He ran into trouble in the third inning with a three-run homer but responded strongly in the fourth, striking out the side. In the evening game of the doubleheader, Lazaro Collera demonstrated his skill, striking out 10 batters and allowing only one hit over five innings of scoreless ball. Both starters pitched five innings before being relieved. TJ Coats showed resilience out of the bullpen, allowing just one hit and keeping the Leopards off the scoreboard. In the second game, Brixton Lofgren continued his dominant pitching, not allowing a hit. Jake Lodjek was the only blemish on the day’s pitching, giving up three runs in the seventh but holding on to preserve the 10-run lead.

Miami launched an explosive attack in the first game, highlighted by Cian Copeland’s impressive 405-foot three-run homer to deep center field. They further extended their lead with Daniel’s RBI double and Derek Williams’ single, both bringing in runs. In the second inning, Daniel Cuvet’s double pushed the score to 7-0.

Leading 7-0, Miami seemed poised for a quick game when the Leopards responded with four runs in the third inning, including two home runs, narrowing the gap to three. However, Miami quickly countered in the bottom of the same inning with five runs, loading the bases twice and scoring three on an RBI double by Alex Sosa and an RBI by Ogden, who was hit by a pitch. The fifth run came on a sacrifice fly to left by Michael Torres. Fabio contributed an RBI single in the fifth, and Daniel Cuvet capped the scoring with his third home run of the season. Miami batters tallied around the order in both the first and fifth innings, with the exception of the sixth, where they failed to score.

In game one, the bats were just warming up, as was the pitching. Starting in the second inning, Miami took control, scoring 14 unanswered runs and recording 14 hits. Lazaro Collera limited the Leopards to just one hit in the fifth inning, and Brixton, in relief, did not allow any.

The scoring commenced with Alex leading off with a double. The next four batters safely reached base via two singles and a walk, highlighted by Dylan Dubovik’s grand slam, giving Miami an early 5-0 advantage. In the third inning, four more runs were added, beginning with singles by Sosa and Williams with one out, followed by Alonzo Alvarez’s triple that drove in two runs. Later, Dylan Dubovik hit his second home run, increasing the score to 9-0.

In the fourth inning, Miami took advantage of three walks and an error by their first baseman to score a run, followed by Brylan West’s RBI single with the bases loaded for the second run. In the fifth inning, Miami secured their 12th run on Michael Torres’s triple, giving them a commanding 12-0 lead. The pitchers, Collera, and Lofgren, delivered a brilliant performance, holding the opposing team to just one hit.

Miami added two more runs in the sixth inning, their final inning. Dubovik singled with two outs, his third hit of the day, followed by Brandon DeGoti’s double. The final score was sealed when Miami scored on Watkins’s single to third base.

Lafayette trailed 14-0 entering the seventh inning and faced defeat if they couldn’t score five runs. Miami brought in Jake Lodgek to close out the game. However, the Cats fought back with three runs, sending eight batters to the plate in a final desperate attempt. Three hits and an error contributed to the rally, but Lafayette fell two runs short of extending the game. Jake finally regained his composure, ending the inning with a strikeout of the final batter.

Miami wraps up the four-game series tomorrow with Tate DeRias on the mound. They aim to secure the SWEEP and extend their winning streak to nine games. First pitch is scheduled for 1 PM