Pairings have been set for the 2010 ACC Baseball Championship in Greensboro, NC starting Wednesday.
Miami drew the No. 4 seed and is in the same bracket as No. 5 Florida State, No. 8 Boston College and No. 1 Virginia, who took the series from the Canes last weekend. UM opens postseason play with a Wednesday showdown against state rival FSU and is back in action Thursday against Boston College. Off Friday, the Canes next take the field on Saturday, getting another crack at the top-ranked Cavaliers. UVA won an ACC crown last year as the No. 6 seed, so safe to say this tournament is wide open.
Wednesday – 4 pm – No. 4 Miami vs. No. 5 Florida State
Thursday – Noon – No. 4 Miami vs. No. 8 Boston College
Saturday – Noon – No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 4 Miami
Miami had a chance at a higher seed, but left it on the table this past weekend with Virginia in town. The Canes took the Thursday night opener 5-4 in extra innings, but fell on Friday (3-1) and Saturday (7-4). This was on the heels of dropping the series at Georgia Tech the previous weekend. Two big series back-to-back and a 2-4 run with the postseason around the corner. With a chance to close out strong, UM limped towards the finish line.
Starting pitcher Eric Erickson remains out due to injury, errors are still part of the game and the Canes are still leaving runners on base. UM stranded 14 in Sunday’s 7-4 loss and had three errors in Saturday’s 3-1 loss, giving the Hoos three unanswered runs.
Miami Hurricanes baseball enthusiast, chime in. How far is this team going to go this year? Omaha was the goal, but do the Canes have what it takes to get there? Curious to hear what you think. I’ve tried to kilter expectations regarding this team – still burned from last year’s regional exit in Gainesville as well as choking away top seed at Rosenblatt two years back with ninth inning error and meltdown which cost them against Georgia.
I want to believe, but I’m not sure this is the year to get my hopes up.