The Noles were ranked eighth, the Canes fourteenth and as always when these two go at it, something was going to give. One Sunshine State program would be better off come Sunday and the other left with questions to answer.
Miami lost a game one heartbreaker, falling 6-5, giving up one in the ninth after scrapping to score a game-tying run in eighth. The Canes had eight hits to the Noles’ seven, but UM’s seven errors did the home team in and set the tone for an 0-2 loss in game two.
Miami responded with a 5-1 win on Sunday to avoid the sweep, but the damage had been done and the Canes’ season unraveled with a 5-0 loss to Hofstra a week later, losing the series at Virginia the following week, falling to Florida Atlantic at home the Tuesday after and dropping one to Duke in the regular season series finale.
The Canes went 2-1 in the ACC Tournament, wound up in the Gainesville Regional, gave game one away to the hosting Gators, 5-4 before getting stomped in a season-ending, 11-4 loss on Sunday, courtesy of Florida.
Miami went 38-23 on the year and while most were hoping that was the bottoming-out moment for this Hurricanes baseball program, a 36-23 run a year later proved even worse.
UM did earn a home regional, but was bounced after losing two straight as the top seed – an embarrassing 10-2 loss to Stony Brook and 12-2 season-ending beating at the hands of Missouri State, as yes, while the aforementioned fourth-seeded Seawolves made it all the way to Omaha, getting swept at home as a one-seed was a new low for Miami.
Another disastrous season came to a close and again, the belief that things had bottomed out with things taking a turn for the better this season.
Not so much.
It’s been a tale of two seasons for Miami in 2013. There were a 10-0 start out the gate, albeit against nobodies. Rutgers, Florida Atlantic, St. Thomas and Barry helped the Canes stay undefeated in February, though there were a few scares and five one-run wins – including game one at Florida, where Miami snapped an eleven-game losing streak to the rival Gators.
Just when some felt the corner had been turned, a slumping UF squad bested UM the next two games – 6-4 and 6-3 – taking the series and sending Miami home with more questions than answers.
Mid-week patsies Maine and Central Florida went down without a fight, but ACC play kicked off the following weekend and Duke inexplicable took two from Miami – including a lopsided 6-2 win in game two.
A few days later Illinois State rolled south for a two-game stint, throttling Miami 16-7 in game one before the Canes responded with a 9-2 win the following night.
Miami showed life in a 4-1 win over top-ranked North Carolina mid-March, but reality came in the form of back-to-back weekend loses, 14-2 and 4-1.
Columbia went down fairly easily a few days later at Mark Light and after winning two against Virginia Tech the following weekend, the wheels absolutely came off for the Canes.
An 8-5 extra innings Sunday loss to the Hokies was preceded by a 4-1 loss to Florida Atlantic and two straight losses to Virginia – 15-4 and 8-1 – before getting a 4-3 Sunday win to avoid the sweep, but just for good measure, the Canes fell to Bethune-Cookman, 5-3 this past Wednesday.
Now Florida State looms and the Seminoles will head to Coral Gables smelling blood. Miami sits at 20-12 overall (10-12 since starting 10-0) and the Canes are 5-7 in conference play, while FSU is 25-4 overall and 8-4 in the ACC. The Noles have also taken the last three regular season series from the Canes.
As far as a series and overall rivalry, this is one of the better ones in the sport. Two programs that have forever had a presence in Omaha, always see the post-season and that pump out quality talent non-stop.
There are also two legendary head coaches who both rank in the top ten among NCAA Winningest Active Division-I coaches regarding winning percentage and victories.
Of course Mike Martin has never brought a national championship to Tallahassee and while Jim Morris has brought two, the Hurricanes program has been a shell of itself since it’s last trip to Omaha in 2008.
Regardless of what this series brings, come next week it’s time for some ‘real talk’ regarding the state of this Miami program. Thought about going there this week, but felt it made sense to let this weekend’s series play out.
Florida State rolls in having lost two-of-three at Virginia Tech last weekend – it’s lone win, an 11-10 affair in game two on Saturday. Miami has lost five of it’s past six.
First pitch is 7:30pm ET on Friday night, with a 7:00pm ET start on Saturday and 12:00pm showdown on Sunday.
Get out to The Light and root the Canes on and head back to allCanesBlog.com so we can really get into the current state of this beloved program. We’re also welcoming your input for a future piece on UM baseball so if you’d like us to use your quote in an upcoming piece, shoot us an email and if it’s a great take, you could wind up in the op-ed.
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I have to say that I'm not a baseball fan, but I keep half an eye on our record and whether we make it to Omaha or not. 2008 is a long time to not even make it there to have a chance. My take is this: It seems that basketball and football are on the uptick and making a comeback; Baseball - not so much. It just doesn't seem like we're making any progress over the last few seasons in becoming a better team. Maybe it is nearing the time to make a switch. I don't know how long Coach Morris has been here, but this program needs some kind of shock to get out of its funk. Maybe everyone is too comfortable. I look forward to your take.
Look, this team has been bad since 2009. They actually might institute a little league style mercy rule for Miami since it's not uncommon for UM to be down by more than 10. Either the coaches are bad and/or the players are bad. When I was at the UVA-UM games (Fri and Sat), several Wahoos literally asked me, "What happened to you guys?" All I could do is shake my head and respond that it might be time for a change.
Drop 2 of 3 at home to FSU.
Had enough?
So what now?
Are we the third best baseball team in the state? Even FGCU swept UF earlier this year..
3 needs to step his ass down after this year. A comedy of errors almost every game, losing to teams you have no business losing to. Vanderbilt is top 10. Georgia Tech is a respectable team this year. Stanford is consistently a good team.
And what are we? Swirling the toilet bowl on the way to the septic tank known as permanent mediocrity?
You already know my take. I've said it here for years ... years.
Just a taste to jog memories, just scroll down to the comments ...
https://itsauthing.com/the-state-of-the-morris-era-canes
"For a great coach with the accolades to follow, the product on the field sure the hell doesn’t show it – it mocks it."
As Chris mentioned, one of the most sickening Regionals I've witnessed when Stony Brook and Mizzou State came in and punched the Canes right in the mouth, then walked out with a smile on their face. Those two teams did something similar to what Alonzo Highsmith would speak of in "The U" Documentary of what the Canes would do to other teams
Change is needed
Sam - Last season's regional showing, at home, was arguably the low of the low for this program in the modern era. Folks can tout that Stony Brook made the College World Series, but they were still a four-seed that shouldn't have made it out of Coral Gables. Even worse the WAY Miami lost. That shellacking via Stony Brook was on thing, but to get pounded by Missouri State in the loser's bracket? That should've been what Miami gave, not received.
This situation is atrocious right now. Something has to give.