Monday Musings: Kicking off ACC play with some Mark Light magic

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTT’SSSSSSSSSSSSSS MONDAY!!!!!!!!!!! And you fine folks know what that means. Time to tie on that apron, put on the chef’s hat, and cook up some orange-and-green-spiced Miami Hurricanes-related thoughts.

1) Well hells bells, that was one incredible start to ACC play for Miami baseball. Well, at least on Friday and Saturday nights. The Canes rallied for a 6-5 win after being down 4-0 on Friday night. Freshman sensation Daniel Cuvet delivered the big blast with a three-run, go-ahead home run in the bottom of the seventh inning for the game’s final scoring. Nick Robert got the last four outs to pick up the save.

2) But LORD HAVE MERCY what a comeback the Canes put forth on Saturday night. Down 12-3 in the 5th inning, the Canes mounted a comeback in the seventh with a 6 spot. But the true magic happened in the eighth. With two outs and the bases empty, Miami got on the board after back to back doubles. Three straight walks forced in a run to make in 12-11 Virginia. Then, Blake Cyr blasted an absolute bomba over the wall for a grand salami and a 15-12 lead.

Cuvet added a blast to right the next batter up just for good measure. It was the biggest comeback for Miami since 1992, per the broadcast. Truly incredible.

3)That all being said, this team simply isn’t pitching good enough this season to generate any kind of hope in postseason play. But if they can find a way to get more out of what they have on the mound, there’s no doubt this team can rake. We’ll see if they can carry this momentum into next weekend against UNC at the Light.

4) Sounds like there’s some competition heating up at a key area on the Greentree practice fields. Per our Kappa Cane, it sounds like Albany transfer Reese Poffenbarger is looking good early, which is encouraging. Cam Ward will likely win the job, but competition is only a good thing and helps keep players sharp. And injuries happen and backup options fail to pan out, as we’ve seen with the Canes over the last two years. So having at least two very good quarterbacks on the roster is incredibly important. Hopefully that’s the case for Miami.

5) I saw something last weekend about Coach Jim Larranaga and the Canes that ruffled my feathers quite a bit. There was a particular quibble on Twitter/X, the origin of which I won’t mention. You can look for it yourself. That said, the gist of it was whether Larranaga should be canned after a disappointing season this year. While the original individual said yes, the answer is a clear and resounding no. A Final Four anywhere would earn a reprieve the following year, I don’t care where you are. A Final Four at MIAMI? That deserves an even bigger one. Back-to-back Elite Eight and Final Four seasons? That’s absolutely insane. Larranaga has taken this program to incredible heights and deserves the chance to do it again moving forward.

Miami needs pieces. They desperately need quality big men. Multiple. They need another scorer. But give Larranaga time to get this roster turned around. He’s done it before, and he knows how to do it again. Have faith and patience.

And just go to the Wat and stare at that Final Four banner. MAN, it’s beautiful.

Go Canes!