Miami coach J.D. Arteaga shares keys to beating Clemson, keeping season alive

Miami earned a big win over Louisville to open the ACC Baseball Tournament on Tuesday, but the Hurricanes still have plenty of work to do. Miami arrived in Charlotte with a 25-29 record, meaning it must win the ACC Tournament to reach the NCAA tourney.

To win the ACC, it will take four victories this week, including one over Clemson on Thursday. Hurricanes coach J.D. Arteaga spoke with the ACC Network following Tuesday’s win about the keys to beating the Tigers and keeping their season alive.

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“The thing about Clemson, they do everything right. They don’t beat themselves. They make every play. Good base running, good defense. They’re a good baseball team,” J.D. Arteaga said. “We still made some mistakes today with base running, getting picked when we’re not stealing. … We’ve still gotta clean some things up and play better baseball. That’s something Clemson’s done all year. That’s why they’re in the situation they are and we’re in the situation we’re in.”

With that said, Arteaga has some confidence heading into the matchup against Clemson. The Hurricanes will have ace Gage Ziehl on the mound.

The junior allowed only one earned run earlier this season in a complete game victory over the Tigers.

“We’ve got nothing to lose, man. We’re coming out and all hands on deck. But it feels really good to have Gage going out there,” Arteaga said. “Had a great start against Clemson early on in the season. He was very efficient against them. But he’s been good against everybody. Probably since Week 3 of the season he’s been very good and consistent, which is what you look for in a Friday-night guy, kind of setting the tone.”

There’s no doubt that Miami has a talented team, led by freshman star Daniel Cuvet, who hit a pair of home runs on Tuesday against Louisville.

Arteaga feels like his club is playing better as of late, and he’s hopeful that momentum will continue against Clemson and beyond.

“It’s one of four needed. We put ourselves in a situation where we’ve got to win the tournament to move on to the NCAA Tournament. So we’ve gotta win the first one, but our goal was to come out here and win all four. So whatever it takes. Every game is a Game 7,” Arteaga said.

“It’s been done before. You go back to Fresno State a few years ago, they were the last team in. They won their tournament. That’s how they got into the NCAA Tournament. They ended up winning the national championship. Tulane last year kind of a similar run. They were sub .500, got hot at the end and won their tournament and got an NCAA bid. That’s all you ask for, to get a chance to play in the postseason.”