CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Edgardo Villegas and Yohandy Morales each hit early home runs, Gage Ziehl set the tone on the mound, and Miami defeated Maine 9-1 on Friday night in the Coral Gables regional hosted by the Hurricanes.
Miami scored two in the first on the home run by Villegas and added five in the second, the big hit being a three-run blast by Morales. Both players finished with three RBIs. Zach Levenson drove in two with a seventh-inning home run.
Ziehl (8-4) shut down the Black Bears, allowing an unearned run on four hits through six innings. He struck out seven without a walk. Three relievers finished, allowing one hit.
The top-seeded Hurricanes (41-19) will play No. 2 Texas in the winner's bracket on Saturday. No. 4 Maine (32-20) faces No. 3 Louisiana in an elimination game. Texas defeated Louisiana 4-2 on Friday.
Black Bears starter Colin Fitzgerald (6-2) allowed seven hits and seven runs in an inning and a third. Maine's run scored on an error by the catcher in the fourth inning.