Hurricanes stun host FAU with seven runs in ninth to win 10th straight game

BOCA RATON — The Hurricanes’ hot bats took nine innings to show up, but they arrived just in time.

Miami (10-0) scored seven runs in the ninth inning, coming back from a three-run deficit to beat Florida Atlantic (3-5) 11-7 in Boca Raton on Wednesday night. The victory extends UM’s season-opening win streak to 10 games — the program’s longest season-opening winning streak since 2013.

“There’s just never any panic with the offense that we have and the leadership that we have,” UM coach J.D. Arteaga said. “We’re always in every game.”

There are several other undefeated teams around the country, including Texas, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Clemson, Oregon and Ole Miss. But the Hurricanes are the first team in a Power 4 conference to reach 10 wins.

Miami trailed by three entering the ninth inning, but star third baseman Daniel Cuvet cut the deficit to one with a two-run home run, his sixth of the year. The Hurricanes loaded the bases, and Braylan West drove in two runs with a go-ahead double. Jake Ogden hit a bases-clearing double to drive in three more runs.

“Bases loaded, I was looking for a pitch up,” West said. “He was throwing a lot of splitters in the at bats before. He threw me one, saw it up and I just cranked it.”

FAU held Miami’s bats in check for most of the game. Both teams’ lefty starters worked into trouble but had otherwise solid outings. Miami freshman Sebastian Santos-Olson, making his second career start, pitched 4 1/3 innings and gave up three runs (one of which was earned).

“I thought he pitched really well,” Arteaga said. “Unfortunately, he had that dropped ball in right field with two outs that you shouldn’t give up any runs there and then a young pitcher, you’ve got to kind of regroup and get the next guy out. And it kind of snowballed on him a little bit. The pitch count kind of got up. But he’ll learn.”

UM entered the game averaging 16 runs per game (the Hurricanes scored 30 runs in their previous game), but FAU pitcher Kide Adetuyi held the Hurricanes to just three runs through five frames while striking out 10 UM hitters.

The Hurricanes got on the board first as Alonzo Alvarez reached second base on an error and scored on a single by Braylan West. They built on that lead in the following inning, scoring a run on a single by designated hitter Alex Sosa and another on a single by right fielder Derek Williams.

Williams allowed two Owls runs to score when he dropped what would have been an inning-ending fly ball in shallow right field in the fourth inning. FAU tied the game in the fifth inning with a double by Eli Small.

Williams made up for his prior error by pushing Miami back ahead 4-3 with an RBI single in the seventh inning. Miami’s bullpen could not hold onto the lead, as Owls right fielder Brett Patten knotted the game at four in the bottom half of the inning. FAU took its first lead of the game when UM pitcher Packy Bradley-Cooney could not handle a dribbler back toward the mound.

The Owls extended their lead with an RBI single by Patrick Ward, and they took a three-run lead on a wild pitch. But the lead proved to be too small.

The Hurricanes play another in-state rival, Florida, in a three-game series that starts on Friday night..

“Still got a lot to improve on,” Arteaga said. “It’s nice to be 10-0 and all that, but understanding that there’s been a couple games that we — I don’t want to say we lucked out, but we were fortunate to fight and come back at the end there. But there’s always something to improve on, and we definitely have a lot to improve on still.”