Sports
No. 3 Miami hammers four homers in 13-2 shellacking of Georgia Tech
ATLANTA, Ga. — April showers bring May flowers.
After dropping the first two games of the series to Georgia Tech, the third-ranked Miami Hurricanes salvaged the series Sunday in an emphatic fashion.
Miami mashed four home runs and limited one of the most potent lineups in the nation, buzzing past the Yellow Jackets, 13-2, at Mac Nease Baseball Park.
“The home runs were big, there’s no doubt,” Miami head coach Gino DiMare said. “It’s good to see us score and get ahead early. We did a better job of being more selective and getting good pitches to drive.”
The Hurricanes (32-12, 17-7 ACC) scored in four of the first five innings, storming out to a 6-1 advantage over Georgia Tech (27-18, 12-12 ACC).
Junior catcher Maxwell Romero Jr. opened the scoring with an RBI single in the first.
One inning later, freshman designated hitter Renzo Gonzalez doubled Miami’s lead with an opposite-field extra-base hit.
The Hurricanes pushed their cushion to three in the frame, capitalizing on an error by Georgia Tech shortstop Jadyn Jackson.
The Yellow Jackets chipped away at the deficit with a tally in the third, but they wouldn’t get closer.
In the fourth, the Hurricane home run derby began.
Second baseman Henry Wallen whacked his first career homer, smacking a first-pitch fastball into the trees beyond the right-field wall.
“I knew it was gone off the bat,” Wallen said. “It felt good to help my team. I was just trying to attack the first pitch. I haven’t really been doing that. As I got in the dugout, everybody was showing me love.”
In the fifth, Romero Jr. turned on an inside fastball, launching a two-run bomb into the shrubbery, as well.
“We were aggressive and we attacked,” said Romero Jr., who finished the weekend with three home runs and six RBI. “We came back and fought. It shows a lot about our character and shows that we have each other’s backs.”
Despite already leading by five, the Hurricanes’ offensive outburst was just getting started.
In the seventh, sophomore third base Yohandy Morales, who recorded his second career four-hit game, roped an RBI double to deep left center, extending Miami’s cushion to 7-1.
Georgia Tech got a run back in the bottom half, but the Hurricanes put the nail in the coffin in the final frame.
Sophomore outfielder Jacob Burke singled through the left side, driving in Morales from second to spark the six-run ninth.
Two batters later, right fielder Mike Rosario kept the line moving with an RBI knock of his own.
Freshman Gaby Gutierrez drew a walk, setting the stage for fellow rookie Ariel Garcia.
Garcia crushed a belt-high heater over the left-field fence for a three-run jack, ballooning the Hurricanes’ lead to 12-2.
One pitch after Garcia’s first career dinger, sophomore first baseman CJ Kayfus capped off the home run barrage with a solo shot.
“When we get good pitches to hit, our guys can do damage with those pitches,” DiMare said. “It’s all about plate discipline and not chasing pitches out of the zone,”
Miami’s 13 runs on 16 hits were more than enough for starter Alejandro Rosario.
Rosario (2-2) tossed five innings of one-run baseball, striking out six along the way. The right-hander retired six of the first seven batters he faced and stranded seven Yellow Jackets over his last three innings.
“I thought he threw really well,” DiMare said. “His command was really good and kept the ball down. He was able to work both sides of the plate, and that’s against a very good offensive team.”
Georgia Tech hurler Chance Huff (3-3) was tagged with the loss after surrendering six runs, five earned, across the first five frames.
After the weekend road swing in Atlanta, the Hurricanes head home to host North Dakota State for a three-game set. The series opener is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at Mark Light Field.
“We can fight,” Wallen said. “Every team goes through this. We’re a tough team and we bounced back.”
The Miami Heat ripped Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals from the Boston Celtics in the third quarter.
Jimmy Butler scored 27 of his 41 points after the break, and Miami’s defense locked down Boston to flip an eight-point halftime deficit into a 17-point lead by the end of the third quarter in a 118-107 conquest.
The Celtics lost Al Horford to health and safety protocols in the hours before the series started and ruled Marcus Smart out with the right mid-foot sprain he suffered in Game 7 of their second-round playoff series. Whether they ran out of gas two days after their hard-fought battle with the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks or succumbed to Miami’s relentlessness, the Celtics collapsed after halftime and never recovered.
The Heat, who were also without Kyle Lowry (hamstring), found scoring from Tyler Herro (18 points, eight rebounds), Gabe Vincent (17 points) and Max Strus (11 points). Their defense changed the course of a game that nearly got away from them, amassing 12 blocks and forcing 16 turnovers (turned into 19 points).
The Celtics also lost center Robert Williams III with six minutes remaining in the game. He experienced cramping in his left leg, which also required meniscus surgery in March and suffered a bone bruise against the Bucks. After missing the last four games of the conference semifinals, Williams returned to the starting lineup against the Heat and anchored a defense that slowed Miami early, staking Boston to an 18-9 start.
Herro, the Sixth Man of the Year, settled the Heat’s offense, totaling seven of his points and three of his assists in the first quarter to withstand Boston’s early onslaught and keep their deficit respectable, 28-25.
Jayson Tatum scored 21 of his 29 points in the first half, when the Celtics led by as many as 13 points and 62-54 at the break. But Miami never quit. Butler and Bam Adebayo totaled seven points on a 10-1 run to start the second half, giving the Heat their first lead since they inched ahead for 16 seconds in the first quarter.
Butler inspired a stifling defensive effort after Boston shot 59% from the field in the first half. Two straight steals led to four of his 11 points during Miami’s 22-2 start to the third quarter. The Celtics trailed, 76-64. When the third quarter was done, Boston had eight turnovers and just two field goals on 15 attempts.
The Heat’s lead reached 96-76 on three Herro free throws to start the fourth quarter. Boston was lost. Jaylen Brown could not find any seams in the defense, and the Celtics were relying on Payton Pritchard, Daniel Theis and Aaron Nesmith off the bench — three players on the fringes of their healthy rotation.
The Celtics scratched back within nine points with seven minutes remaining and 114-107 just inside of two minutes, but Butler and the Heat had an answer for every run. His block of Pritchard erased Boston’s final hope, and his last-minute layup gave him the fifth 40-point game of his playoff career and third this year.
– – – – – – –
Ben Rohrbach is a staff writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
Empty Talk57 mins ago
Ella Mai Performs Sultry Medley of ‘DFMU,’ ‘Leave You Alone’ on ‘Fallon’
Empty Talk57 mins ago
Madison Cawthorn Concedes Amid Orgy of Scandals
News58 mins ago
Grimes Auctioning Off Her Met Gala Accessories to Support BIPOC Families in Ukraine
Politics2 months ago
Proposed law in Maryland would allow mothers to kill their babies up to 28 days after birth
Politics2 months ago
California introduces new bill that would allow mothers to kill their babies up to 7 days after birth
News2 months ago
100+ nations have global agreement now being deployed called ‘Project Sandman’ to drop and end dominance of U.S. dollar and petrodollar
News10 hours ago
Miami Gardens woman arrested after she told neighbors she killed her husband and buried him in her backyard
Politics1 day ago
HHS Secretary admits Biden administration knew about baby formula shortage last year, did nothing about it
Sports6 days ago
AEW Dynamite: Owen Hart Tournaments begin, FTW title match, MJF/Wardlow contract signing for Double Or Nothing
-
High Life14 hours agoLouisiana Lawmakers To Consider Employment Protections For Medical Marijuana Patients This Week
-
High Life18 hours agoNebraska Medical Marijuana Activists File Lawsuit Over Ballot Rules
-
Empty Talk19 hours agoValerie Bertinelli officially ends 10-year marriage to Tom Vitale
-
Empty Talk22 hours agoShakira Proves Her TikTok Dance Skills on ‘Fallon’
-
Politics8 hours agoWe have the emails: Search through the new database of Hunter Biden’s ‘laptop from hell’ emails
-
Politics23 hours agoExclusive — Sean Parnell: Balance of Power in the Senate ‘Passes Right Through the Heart of Pennsylvania’
-
Sports24 hours agoBeating Heat will be hard, but here are 7 reasons why hating them is easy
-
News9 hours agoREVEALED: Buffalo shooter is left-wing activist seeking ‘justice for Ukraine’