The momentum gained with an ACC Tournament opening round win against North Carolina was lost during a seven-hour rain delay the following afternoon against top-seeded Virginia.
The Canes jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the Cavaliers, but play was called due to lightning in the second inning. Hours later the two teams resumed play and UVA chipped away at the stone, en route to victory.
Miami led 2-1 entering the sixth, but four hits, two runs and a throwing error gave Virginia momentum and tied the game. In the seventh, back-to-back singles signaled a pitching change for the Canes, with Travis Miller replacing Steven Ewing. From there, a fielder’s choice and a double drove in three runs and put the Cavaliers up, 6-3.
UM tacked on an eighth inning run when Chantz Mack doubled to left and drove in Steven Perez, but that was as close as Miami would get. The bottom of the ninth was a lackluster three up, three down inning.
Miami had three errors against Virginia, gave up fifteen hits and left eleven men on base in what was a much-needed and very winnable game.
There was redemption in Saturday’s 4-2 win over Wake Forest in the sense that Miami got the “W”, but it was expected against the bottom-seeded Demon Deacons.
The Canes were up 4-0 after three, but from that point, bats went cold and no more runs were scored. Over the next five innings, Miami got five hits and left six stranded.
Zeke DeVoss was a tournament bright spot for Miami, going 3-for-4 against Wake Forest and 8-for-10 over three games, with a .857 on-base percentage.
The Canes will learn their postseason fate on Monday morning, but Miami isn’t expected to host a regional. UM has hosted a first-round regional on 23 occasions, but will hit the road next weekend. In-state rivals Florida and Florida State will host, as will ACC rivals Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Virginia and Clemson.
Miami finished the regular season and ACC Tournament with a 36-21 record. More to come regarding regional destination at 12:30pm ET on Monday.
"Miami had three errors against Virginia, gave up fifteen hits and left eleven men on base in what was a much-needed and very winnable game."
This encapsulates Miami's seasons since 2008 – perhaps further back. I think it was in the 8th inning that UM had bases loaded with no outs and they couldn't come up with any hits to drive the runs home. And how many games did we lose this year because of errors?
Like I said a few weeks back, I don't think a change in CEO is warranted … yet. But some serious questions need to be asked about the state of the baseball program. It has taken a largely parallel decline, much like the football program, and if action isn't taken soon, the situation may become unrecoverable without a change at the top.
All that being said, here's hoping for a successful Regional and Supers and another run at the CWS!
Go Canes!
Another bout with the Gators. Seems like the selection committee has a fondness for matching the Canes up with UF in the postseason in recent years. I get that they don't like to have 3 schools in the same state (unless you're Texas)hosting, but damn.
This may actually be a blessing in disguise from a motivational standpoint. If I'm Jim Morris, I'm definitely using that as a tool saying that even though they got swept earlier this season, they should be sick of performing poorly and being sent home by the Gators.
DeVoss in my opinion is the team MVP to this point, so he's going to have to continue his hot play from the ACC Tourney for Miami to win this Regional.
Even though Radziewski is your #1 starter, I would probably start Encinosa against UF since he pitched pretty well against them back in March, but unfortunately, I don't see the Canes advancing past this Regional unless a whole lot goes right for them.