CORAL GABLES, FL – FEBRUARY 27: Miami catcher Alex Sosa (13) tags Florida outfielder Cash Strayer (26) out at home to end the eighth inning as the Miami Hurricanes faced the Florida Gators on February 27, 2026, at Mark Light Field at Alex Rodriguez Park in Coral Gables, Florida. (Photo by Samuel Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Icon Sportswire
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Miami Hurricanes baseball team knew it would face adversity at some point this season. That glorious 10-game win streak to begin the season — just the fifth time the Hurricanes have ever started a season 10-0 — was going to hit a snag eventually. That’s baseball.
It hit the Hurricanes this weekend against an opponent who has given Miami a stern reminder of where it stands over the past decade-plus.
No. 17 Miami dropped its weekend series to the No. 10 Florida Gators, losing the first two games by scores of 7-2 on Friday and 8-4 on Saturday. Sunday’s series finale was canceled due to inclement weather.
It’s the fifth consecutive year and the 11th time in the past 12 years dating back to 2015 that the Gators beat the Hurricanes in a best-of-3 regular-season series.
The Hurricanes’ approach to it: Bring it on.
“Sometimes adversity is good,” outfielder Derek Williams said. “It brings the guys together, for sure. And I’m kind of glad we faced it early in the season so we can all come together and we can all learn how it feels like instead of feeling it later in the season. We’re gonna come together, and we’re gonna fight.”
This Miami team entered the season with expectations of making the College World Series. They came oh-so-close to that last season, advancing to the Super Regional round of the NCAA tournament and forcing a winner-take-all Game 3 in that round on the road against the Louisville Cardinals before falling 3-2 in the decisive game.
UM knows it can compete. It knows it can be a force when things are working right.
And the Hurricanes have learned a lot about themselves through the first three weeks.
First and foremost, its lineup will be its calling card. That’s been known since the season began. They have stars in the heart of their lineup in third baseman Daniel Cuvet and catcher Alex Sosa. Williams has gotten off to a hot start as well. Freshman outfielder Dylan Dubovik has made an impression, too.
UM averaged 15.5 runs per game through its first 10 games, albeit against lesser opponents — weekend series against Lehigh and Lafayette College and then midweek contests against UCF, Indiana State and FAU.
In the first two games against Florida, Miami combined for 14 hits while striking out 23 times.
UF’s one-two punch of Liam Peterson and Aidan King might be the best one-two punch the Hurricanes face pitching-wise this season.
That said, UM might have an effective one-two punch at the top of its own rotation in AJ Ciscar and Rob Evans.
Ciscar pitched into the eighth inning against Florida on Friday and had a 3.00 ERA through three starts, a stretch in which he has 22 strikeouts and no walks with a .225 batting average against over 18 innings. He struck out six against Florida while giving up four runs (three earned) on Friday.
Evans, meanwhile, has recorded double-digit strikeouts in back-to-back starts and showcased hit mettle on Saturday against the Gators. He battled through a rough second inning. He loaded the bases on three consecutive singles and came one pitch away from getting out of the frame by allowing just one run. Instead, UF capitalized with a Kyle Jones two-run double and a wild pitch to put up four runs in the frame.
How did Evans respond? He tossed four perfect innings and retired 13 consecutive hitters — eight by strikeout — to get Miami to the seventh inning, at which point the game was tied 4-4.
“That’s the guy that we saw throw against our own guys all spring in intersquads with stuff like that,” Hurricanes coach J.D. Arteaga said. “Not surprised to see what he did.”
But it wasn’t enough for Miami to win a game against one if its main rivals.
All the Hurricanes can do now is move forward.
They have four more games at home next week, a midweek against Bethune-Cookman on Wednesday before hosting Boston College for a weekend series starting Friday to open Atlantic Coast Conference play.
“This doesn’t change what this team is and who we are,” Sosa said. “That’s a good Florida team. It is what it is. This team is still special. We’re not gonna let those two losses affect us. I’ve got a lot of confidence and this whole team has a lot of confidence in each other and in this team. It doesn’t change anything for us.”
This story was originally published March 1, 2026 at 1:42 PM.
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Miami Herald
Jordan McPherson covers the Miami Hurricanes and Florida Panthers for the Miami Herald. He attended the University of Florida and covered the Gators athletic program for five years before joining the Herald staff in December 2017.