Preview and Live Updates: Miami vs. Duke in ACC Championship semifinal

The 11th-seeded Hurricanes (27-29, 11-19 ACC) square off against the sixth-seeded Duke Blue Devils (37-18, 16-14 ACC) at 5 p.m. Saturday in Charlotte, N.C. The winner will earn a spot in the ACC Baseball Championship final.

The Hurricanes boast a 49-17 advantage over the Blue Devils, including a 21-8 lead in contests held in the Tar Heel State.

The 11th-seeded Hurricanes advanced to the ACC Baseball Championship semifinals for the second straight year.

Miami defeated the seventh-seeded Louisville Cardinals, 8-5, before knocking off the second-seeded Clemson Tigers, 8-7.

The Hurricanes won Pool B with the victory over Clemson Thursday afternoon.

Miami mounted an early lead and held off the Tigers late, as junior left fielder Edgardo Villegas made a leaping catch at the wall with two outs in the ninth to lock down the win.

Fifth-year redshirt sophomore Myles Caba (5) recorded the final six outs after throwing 60 pitches in a 3 1/3-inning save to open postseason play Tuesday.

Freshman outfielder Jake Kulikowski delivered a pinch-hit solo shot in the eighth to provide Miami with an insurance tally, which proved to be the difference.

Junior right-hander Gage Ziehl (5-3) earned the win with his 11th quality start in 15th appearances. Ziehl pitched six innings for the 10th time in his last 11 outings, limiting Clemson to just two earned runs.

Miami scored six times across the first two innings, highlighted by freshman shortstop Antonio Jimenez's three-run blast in the second.

In the victory, third baseman Daniel Cuvet notched his 73rd RBI of the year, the second-most by a Hurricane freshman, trailing only Ryan Braun (76) in 2003.

Miami is the third No. 11 seed to reach the semifinals of the ACC Baseball Championship. Since the conference adopted a 12-team pool play format in 2017, the lowest seed in a pod has made it to the semifinals seven times in as many tournaments.

Miami is 28-27 all-time in the ACC Baseball Championship. The Hurricanes' lone ACC Championship came in 2008.

Last year, the Hurricanes reached the title game for the first time in 11 years. Since the conference adopted a 12-team pool play format in 2017, the lowest seed in a pod has advanced to the semifinals six times, including 11th-seeded Pitt in Charlotte two seasons ago.

Miami sends left-hander Herick Hernandez (3-7, 6.47 ERA) to the hill opposite Duke righty Ryan Higgins (2-1, 5.77 ERA).

Against the Blue Devils on April 7, Hernandez tied a career-high ten strikeouts across six innings of one-run baseball.

Poll News

Miami remains outside this week's top-25 D-1 Baseball Poll.

The ACC has seven teams ranked in the poll, including Clemson (3rd), North Carolina (8th), and Florida State (10th) ranked in the top ten.

The remaining conference teams ranked in the top 25 are NC State (12th), Virginia (16th), Duke (17th), and Wake Forest (22nd).

Miami has zero remaining ranked opponents on its 2024 schedule. This season, Miami is 5-10 against ranked opponents.

Miami has qualified for the College World Series 25 times - the second-most of any program nationwide, trailing only Texas (37). The Hurricanes' four national championships (1982, 1985, 1999, 2001) are tied for fifth-most all-time.

Notable Miami Stats

Through 56 games, Miami has notched 19 comefrom-behind victories, including five walk-off wins against NJIT on Feb. 16, then-No. 15 North Carolina on March 16, FIU on March 19, then-No. 3 Clemson on March 28, and BYU on May 2.

The Hurricanes have tallied ten victories, trailing after six innings.

On March 9, Miami overcame a nine-run deficit vs. then-No. 13 Virginia, scoring 13 unanswered runs. The come-from-behind win marked the Hurricanes' largest comeback victory since erasing a nine-run deficit against Tampa on May 13, 1992.

The Hurricanes scored six runs in the seventh inning before plating another seven tallies in the eighth.

Two Hurricanes earned All-ACC accolades: SP Gage Ziehl (First Team) and 3B Daniel Cuvet (2nd & All-Freshman Team).

As of May 24, no Division I freshman has tallied more home runs (23), RBI (73), or total bases (166) than Cuvet.

Among freshmen nationally, the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native is second in slugging (.731) and tied for second in hits (80).

Cuvet paces the club in 12 offensive categories, including average (.352), homers, RBI, and OPS (1.163).

The 6-foot-3, 237-pound slugger can become the first freshman to lead Miami in batting, home runs, and RBI.

Against Louisville in the ACC Baseball Championship opener, Cuvet matched Pat Burrell (23) for the most home runs by a Hurricane freshman.

The duo is tied for the fourth-most round-trippers in a single season in program history.

Following his team-leading 18th multi-RBI performance, Cuvet is three RBI shy of tying Ryan Braun (76) for the UM rookie record.

Senior Jacoby Long has come of age in his last year of collegiate eligibility.

In conference action, Long led the Hurricanes in batting (.364), the five-highest mark among all ACC players.

Overall, the center fielder is hitting .304 with four home runs and 24 RBI, swiping a team-high ten stolen bases in 52 games.

The Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., native has totaled 63 percent of his career RBI, 60 percent of his career hits, and half of his career homers in just this season.

Junior Dorian Gonzalez Jr. has been a critical cog in the middle of Miami's order.

Gonzalez Jr. paces the Hurricanes in doubles (17) while sitting second in hits (69), RBI (48), and total bases (110). The Miami native is also third in average (.307).

Injuries have plagued Miami this season, as seven Hurricanes have missed significant time, including All-ACC candidates Blake Cyr and Jason Torres. A 2023 Consensus Freshman All-American, Cyr was limited to 25 games after breaking his thumb at Duke on April 5.

Before his injury, Cyr tallied a .284/.397/.537 slash line with seven home runs and 21 RBI. Torres started Miami's first 39 contests before having season-ending elbow surgery. The 6-foot-1, 228-pound slugger finished his sophomore campaign with a .331 average, eight home runs and 32 RBI.

Junior left-handed pitcher/utility Renzo Gonzalez and freshman outfielder Luca Reyes have been sidelined the entire year.

Right-handed relievers Drew Dwyer, Julian Hernandez, and Jordan Vargas have also been unavailable throughout the season, combining to throw just 15 2/3 innings.

Recently, the Hurricanes suffered another blow as setup man Brian Walters underwent season-ending arm surgery. Walters' 3.29 ERA is the top mark in Miami's bullpen.

The Opponent

After breaking the freshman RBI record held by Joey Loperfido, rookie AJ Gracia set the new freshman home run record last Saturday against Georgia Tech.

Held by Andrew Fischer, who hit 11 in 2023, Gracia crushed a two-run home run to center field to put the nail in the coffin in Saturday’s come from behind 14-10 victory.

The Monroe, N.J., native has now produced 51 RBI this season and continues to extend the record, as Duke has at least seven games left to play this season.

Zac Morris leads the team with 27 two-out RBI this season, as the Blue Devils have tallied 135 as a collective unit. The 135 runs account for 30.1% of Duke’s scoring this season.

Senior Alex Stone continues to produce over the second half of the season, earning the nod as a key “second half player” throughout his career.

Stone has produced a .389 average at the plate (44-for-113) collecting 14 doubles, five home runs, 37 RBI, six walks and eight hit by pitches. He holds a .646 slugging percentage and has an on-base percentage of .450 since flipping to the second half of the year.

Ben Miller continues to rake in his 48 games played in 2024. Miller leads the team in batting average (.383), second in doubles (17), OPS (1.144), hits (75), slugging percentage (.679), and on-base percentage (.465). His 75 hits are also the 97th most in the country by a single player. The Durham, N.C., native has also added 15 walks and 15 hit by pitches, beginning the season with a 13-game hitting streak.

He collected his 22nd multi-hit contest of the season against Georgia Tech last weekend. He is now three doubles away from tying a handful of players for fifth all-time in a single season with 20 and seven doubles away from tying Vaughn Schill who finished the 1999 season with 24 doubles.

Starting Pitchers

Miami: LHP Herick Hernandez (3-7) (6.47 ERA) will make his fifteenth start of the season. The junior has pitched 65.1 innings, allowing 59 runs on 74 hits, striking out 86, and walking 31.

Duke: RHP Ryan Higgins (2-1) (5.77 ERA) will make his twenty-first appearance of the season. The junior has pitched 43.2 innings, allowing 29 runs on 35 hits, striking out 52 and walking 23.

Miami Athletics Athletics and Duke Athletics contributed to this report

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