The official University of Miami site went with a politically correct adjective regarding Tuesday night’s showdown with visiting Illinois State; “Canes Baseball Falls In Midweek Matchup”.
Another way to put it? Miami got its business pushed in, 17-6, by a garbage program that was 5-7 entering game one of this two-game series.
An utterly embarrassing, shameful and putrid performance tonight for Miami, reminiscent to the close out of the post-season last year, where some smaller schools rolled into the Coral Gables Regional and embarrassed the ever-loving-hell out of the hometown team.
Miami closed out last season with a 10-2 loss to four-seed Stony Brook and a 12-2 shellacking at the hands of Missouri State, also in the losers’ bracket with the Canes.
This loss to Illinois State? Infinitely worse at came in the regular season against a squad that most-likely won’t sniff the post-season.
The Redbirds jumped on starter Eric Whaley immediately, running him off after two innings. Whaley gave up eight hits and was charged with five runs in his brief appearance and Alex Fernandez fared worse, only lasting an inning before surrendering three hits and being credited with four runs, giving up a third inning grand slam.
Ryan Otero popped in for a third of a inning, giving up one hit, but getting charged with three runs. He was followed by Vince Kossak, who gave four hits, with five runs tacked on his resume in one inning of work.
Enrique Sosa last just under three innings, giving up two hits, while Sam Abrams and Jace Herrera closed it out, throwing for an inning apiece and each giving up a hit.
Miami was down 9-0 after three to an absolutely nobody, and this coming on the heels of dropping two of three to Duke this past weekend at The Light.
The Canes are now 13-5 after starting the season 10-0. A ninth inning rally game one at Florida is the lone quality win Miami has this season and even that came against a much lesser Florida team than the Gators have fielded the past few years.
The Canes did rally to pick up four in the bottom of the third, but gave back eight over the next two innings, trailing 17-4 before taking on two runs in the sixth and seventh.
UM pitchers gave up twenty hits on the night while Hurricane hitters stranded fourteen on base.
Miami and Illinois State will wrap their two-game series Wednesday night at The Light, with first pitch set for 6pm. Listen in on WVUM 90.5 or head to the stadium, if you can stomach it.
As for the Jim Morris boo-birds and those calling for change … you earned some more ammo tonight. This loss is a new low.