Miami Hurricanes baseball beats Bethune-Cookman 5-2 after Florida series, preparing for ACC opener

Midweek win steadies Miami after Florida weekend

The University of Miami baseball team entered March 2026 looking to stabilize its early-season trajectory after a challenging weekend against Florida that ended without a series finale. Miami responded Wednesday, March 4, with a 5-2 home victory over Bethune-Cookman at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field, improving to 11-2 while the Wildcats fell to 9-4.

The game was tied late before Miami produced its decisive offense in the seventh inning, turning a close midweek contest into a win that sets the stage for the start of Atlantic Coast Conference play.

How the game turned in the seventh

Miami scored first in the second inning on a sacrifice fly by Fabio Peralta after a Brylan West single helped create early traffic. Bethune-Cookman answered with single runs in the fifth and sixth innings, the first aided by a Miami fielding error and the second on an RBI single by Michael Rodriguez that tied the game 2-2.

The pivotal sequence came in the bottom of the seventh. Daniel Cuvet doubled and Dylan Dubovik drew a walk, setting the table for Derek Williams, whose two-run double pushed Miami in front. West followed with a sacrifice fly that plated Williams and completed a three-run inning.

Final: Miami 5, Bethune-Cookman 2 (March 4, 2026, Coral Gables).

Pitching and late-game execution

Miami used eight pitchers and limited Bethune-Cookman to two runs, one of them unearned. Jake Dorn earned the win in relief, and Ryan Bilka recorded Miami’s first save of the season with a scoreless ninth. The Hurricanes’ bullpen held Bethune-Cookman scoreless over the final three innings, preserving the lead created in the seventh.

• Miami hits/errors: 8 hits, 2 errors
• Bethune-Cookman hits/errors: 6 hits, 0 errors
• Attendance: 2,345

Context: Florida series disruption and what comes next

Miami’s win came days after a high-profile home series against Florida. On Saturday, Feb. 28, Miami lost 8-4 despite a three-run home run by Williams in the first inning. The scheduled Sunday, March 1 series finale was canceled due to weather, and no makeup date had been announced at the time.

Miami now shifts into conference play with a three-game home series against Boston College, beginning Friday night. The Bethune-Cookman game offered a snapshot of what Miami will likely need in ACC competition: run creation in tight moments, clean relief work late, and enough depth to navigate high-variance midweek and weekend pitching usage.