NCAA Super Regional: Miami Survives VCU, 3-2

It wasn’t anything near the football-score-like explosion Miami laid on Columbia earlier this week. In all reality, this one wasn’t pretty in the least; but it didn’t need to be. The Hurricanes simply needed to be effective, to find a way and to get a win—inching one step closer to Omaha and a six-year College World Series drought.

Miami survived a 90-minute weather delay and some missed opportunities at the plate en route to a necessary 3-2 victory over Virginia Commonwealth on Friday afternoon in front of a small-but-spirited lunchtime crowd.

Offensively this one was decided in the bottom of the second; Miami picking up three unearned runs in a four-hit affair and going scoreless the final seven innings.

David Thompson grounded out to start the inning. Garrett Kennedy drew a one-out walk off of Rams’ starter JoJo Howie to start the bottom half of the third. Brandon Lopez then reached on a fielder’s choice—VCU credited with an error to second, leaving both runners safe.

Willie Abreu grounded out, advancing Kennedy to third and Lopez to second, setting the stage for a two-out single by Jacob Heyward—scoring two. Heyward promptly stole second and made his way home by way of a Ricky Eusebio single.

The inning ending moments later when Eusebio was thrown out at second with Christopher Barr up to bat.

Andrew Suarez was in command early, but was eventually the biggest victim of the weather delay. Suarez threw five innings, allowing three hits and a run, while striking out four and unlike his quirky, slow-throwing counterpart Howie—who lasted 6.1 innings—Suarez was done for the day after the unexpected 90-minute break.

The Rams’ first run came in the third off of Suarez—who hit a batter and allowed a single, setting the stage for a sacrifice bunt and RBI groundout.

Cooper Hammond entered in the top the sixth, immediately giving up a single, fielder’s choice and groundout before another single set up runners on the corners.

From there and RBI single and groundout ended the inning, with the Rams pulling to within one—prompting a seventh inning pitching change, with Michael Mediavilla entering the game, getting things under control and lasting until the ninth when Bryan Garcia came in to close it out.

While Miami’s pitching held strong late in a one-run game, bats never got going—especially post-delay, when it seemed like the Hurricanes were flirting with disaster and playing low-scoring Rams-type baseball.

Three up, three down in the sixth with three consecutive groundouts from Kennedy, Lopez and Abreu.

Heyward then grounded out to start the seventh, Eusebio drew a four-pitch walk—ending Howie’s afternoon—only be thrown out for the second time on the day. Barr then flied out to end the inning.

In the eighth, more of the same. Iskenderian grounded out, Collins flied out, Thompson was hit by a pitched and Kennedy grounded out, as well in Miami’s last at-bat of the day—Garcia taking over in the ninth, retiring three Rams in a row to end the game.

While one hates to be critical in a win; especially this time of year when it’s all about getting the “W” at all costs—the lack of firepower for the second time in six days is a bit scary.

As impressive as a 20-hit effort against Columbia on Monday night, it came on the heels of a three-hit scoreless affair the night prior. Now this; a four-hit game with three unearned runs and a controversial interference call that wound up being the difference-maker in the end.

According to the rulebook, the umpires were right to reverse a call against Virginia Commonwealth—meeting midfield for what seemed like a lifetime before calling Matt Davis out for interference on Iskenderian.

ESPN baseball analyst Mike Rooney chimed in during the broadcast soon after the play, explaining that it was the right call as the onus is always on the runner to give the fielder room to make the play.

In short, until the ball passed Iskenderian, the Miami second baseman had the right of way—no matter if he initiated contact with Davis first.

While no one ever wants to see a play like that prove to be a deciding factor in such an important showdown, it absolutely did in this case. The Rams were looking at runners on second and third with no outs and instead were looking at a runner on first and one out.

One batter later, a groundout and runner on second—which arguably would’ve resulted in a run without the overturned call. Back-to-back singles eventually drove in a run, with a strikeout ending a one-run Rams’ inning that could’ve spelled disaster for the Canes.

Still, there’s a reason Miami went 34-5 at Mark Light Field this year and there were more down-to-the-wire games than blowouts. It’s simply the way it often goes. VCU may have been a fourth-seed in the Dallas, but the Rams won 14-of-15 entering this week’s Super Regional and have been playing beyond their regular season means.

This was not a series to take for granted—and Miami wasn’t; players and coaching admitting consistently all week that team was a force very capable of reaching Omaha. Still, the mantra remained; win two-of-three and the Canes are now halfway to the promised land.

While the tests and challenges have been relentless this post-season, another is on deck—close strong. One win away from the Supers, Miami took Columbia lightly, lost and put itself in a do-or-die, one-game-season type of situation is didn’t need to be in—resulting in Monday nights 21-3 shellacking when the Canes’ bats woke up.

Such can’t be the case on Saturday as an opponent is on the ropes and 27 outs are all that separate Miami from the College World Series.

Virginia Commonwealth just went down and is on the mat.

When they get up Saturday afternoon, deliver that knockout punch and finish them.

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