Playing a day after a 22-0 dominating performance is a tall task to live up to.
But the No. 6 Hurricanes came close Saturday night against the visiting North Dakota State Bison. The 16-1 victory earned Miami the series win and allowed multiple players to showoff their offensive prowess.
Unlike Friday, when sophomore Jacob Burke rose above the rest with eight RBIs, Saturday was a much more even scoring output among the players. Although true freshman Renzo Gonzalez hit a career-high four RBIs with a triple, two-run home run and a single, one double short of hitting for the cycle.
“It seems every game we play, it’s somebody different,” said head coach Gino DiMare. “Renzo is a guy who knows how to play the game. He has great instincts, versatility and he’s a clutch hitter who can hit the ball all over the field. He has a little pop to him too. He’s a tough kid and had a big night for us.”
Gonzalez’s triple was part of the six runs the Hurricanes scored in the first inning. Freshman Edgardo Villegas led off the inning with a two-run home run, which immediately was followed by a solo home run from third baseman Yohandy Morales. Two batters later, shortstop Dominic Pitelli ripped a solo shot.
Four more runs in the bottom of the third inning gave the Hurricanes a 10-1 lead early on.
“We’re just following a plan,” Morales said. “This is a team win and we’re going to keep battling and keep working. Every player we put in there is going to battle their behinds off. This is a great ball club we have.”
In the bottom of the seven, Gonzalez hit his two-run homer and four more runs across the seventh and eighth tallied for 16 total runs.
On the mound for the Hurricanes, freshman Karson Ligon pitched through five innings, only surrendering one run on seven hits with three strikeouts. Ronaldo Gallo, Jordan Dubberly and Rafe Schlesinger pitched a total of four scoreless innings with only one hit to close out the game.
The Hurricanes will look for their seventh sweep of the series at 12 p.m. on Sunday.