Hurricanes, Owls Set for Midweek Clash in Boca Raton

BOCA RATON, Fla. (Interstat) — The surging Miami Hurricanes travel to face the Florida Atlantic Owls in a nonconference midweek matchup Wednesday at FAU Baseball Stadium.

First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. under cloudy skies with a temperature near 73 degrees.

The Hurricanes (29-11) enter with momentum, having won two of three on the road at then-Stanford last weekend, including a 4-3 victory Saturday. They fell 14-6 in the series finale Sunday despite a strong relief outing from Jack Durso, who threw two hitless innings with two strikeouts.

Durso, a key bullpen arm, has been effective lately, not allowing an earned run in his last four appearances spanning three innings. He will be a player to watch for Miami.

The Hurricanes have dominated the recent series, winning both meetings this season: 11-7 at FAU on Feb. 25 and 10-6 in Coral Gables on March 24.

Florida Atlantic (19-20) looks to rebound after dropping its weekend series to Tulane at home, including a 12-4 loss Sunday. Reliever Reilly Witmer has been a bright spot, posting 3 1/3 scoreless innings over his last two outings, and will be a player to watch for the Owls.

Miami’s offense is powered by third baseman Daniel Cuvet, who hit a two-run homer in Sunday’s loss. The Hurricanes have won seven of their last 10 games.

The Owls, hovering near .500, have struggled for consistency, alternating wins and losses over their past 10 contests. They will need to contain a Miami lineup averaging over seven runs per game in the teams’ two previous matchups this year.

According to Interstat’s game simulator, the projected final score is Miami 6, Florida Atlantic 4.

Following Wednesday’s game, Miami opens a three-game home series against California on Friday. Florida Atlantic begins a conference series at home against Charlotte on Friday.