Marlins practice with aluminum, then lay wood to Hurricanes in 19-3 win

Marlins practice with aluminum, then lay wood to Hurricanes in 19-3 win - Joe Capozzi PBP

The Marlins did plenty of damage Wednesday at Roger Dean Stadium — both with aluminum and wooden bats.

Just for kicks, Hanley Ramirez and his Marlins teammates borrowed an aluminum bat from a University of Miami player during pre-game batting practice before their exhibition game. They took turns pelting the buildings beyond the outfield wall with impressive swings.

Once the game started, the Marlins switched to wood bats and continued their power display, banging out 20 hits in a 19-3 win over the Hurricanes.

"We've been enjoying the experience of playing the Marlins for many, many years but we haven't quite had the experience we had today," UM coach Jim Morris said after the Hurricanes fell to 1-8 in their annual spring game against the Marlins.

After hitting the longest aluminum-bat shots in batting practice, Ramirez hit an impressive wood-bat shot over the left-center field wall in the first inning for a three-run home run.

"The wind got it, too," he said with a smile.

Ricky Nolasco was impressive in his two scoreless innings of work, throwing first-pitch strikes to all eight batters he faced. But he and other Marlins admitted they were a little anxious before the game about the sharp trajectories produced by aluminum bats.

"Those things are too loud. I think I'd get a headache after the first couple of swings," said Marlins first baseman Gaby Sanchez, a former Hurricanes star. "We're in the cage (before the game) and Hanley and (Dan) Uggla and (Jorge) Cantu are using them. It was like thunder bolts were going off when they were hitting."

The loud pinging noise created by the Marlins in batting practice kept the crowd on edge even after the game started.

"Very strange," Nolasco said about the loud sound the aluminum bat made when the first batter of the game grounded out to short. "The crowd makes all these 'oohs' and 'aahhs' and I'm like, 'What happened? What's everybody getting excited about? It's just a regular ground out.' "

The Hurricanes got in on the fun, too. Sophomore catcher David Villasuso connected off Marlins reliever Kris Harvey for a home run in the sixth inning.

"I'm not gonna lie — it's a little bit different when you look up and see a guy holding a weapon instead of a wooden bat," said Marlins catcher John Baker. "It kind of changes your game plan."

Jerad Grundy, UM's freshman starting pitcher, said he knew he was in trouble when he fell behind Ramirez 2-0 in the first inning.

"I knew I had to throw him a fastball for a strike, and he's really good.

"He's going to hit anything that's close," said Grundy, a left-hander who was facing high school hitters less than a year ago.

"It's still a great experience. We obviously didn't play very well and lost but it's still good for us to compete against guys like this."

Before the game, Ramirez mingled with Hurricanes players, showing off his teal cleats emblazoned with his "H2R."

"This is the show, the big leagues," he said when asked about what he told the college players. "When you get up here, you can have whatever you want.

"So just keep working hard."

Ramirez just smiled when asked what kind of numbers he might produce if he used aluminum bats. He said he liked the metal bats "on offense.

"When I'm playing defense, no."