The No. 9 Hurricanes took down Virginia 8-6 in a wild game that saw 13 runs scored in the first four innings at Davenport Field on Sunday afternoon.
Miami jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a two-RBI single by junior David Thompson, plus a run walked in by Cavaliers starter Brandon Waddell. Waddell recovered to retire the next three batters with two men on base.
Junior George Iskenderian made it 4-0 for the Canes with an RBI triple in the right center gap in the top of the second inning. The lead wouldn’t hold for long, however, as the Cavaliers rang up starting pitcher Enrique Sosa for five runs in the bottom of the second inning to put Virginia up 5-4.
Redshirt sophomore Christopher Barr answered right back for the Canes with a two-out RBI single in the top of the third that plated Thompson, who started the inning with one of his two walks of the day.
Sophomore Willie Abreu capped off an explosive four-inning start to the game with a bases-clearing double off the left field wall with two outs in the top of the fourth.
Abreu came into Sunday’s game hot after tying his career-high with four hits in Saturday’s 5-2 loss to Virginia.
“[Willie] had a very good weekend,” Head Coach Jim Morris said. “It’s great to see him come on, and that hit today was huge with the bases jammed and two outs. He thought it was out [of the park].”
A lone run by the Cavaliers in the bottom of the seventh ended the scoring in an eventful game.
The Hurricanes (30-11, 15-6) bounced back on Sunday after dropping the first two games in the road series against the Cavaliers (24-13, 9-12) on Friday and Saturday. Miami remains on top of the ACC’s Coastal Division.
The Canes next face Florida Atlantic University at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Mark Light Field.