‘U’ choked…

The Miami Hurricanes are now 50-9 – yet one loss away from missing Omaha after a stellar season.

Sadly, that’s what happens when you go 1 of 12 with runners in scoring position in game one of the Super Regionals – allowing a 3-3 contest to find extra innings, after multiple shots at putting away a visiting foe.

Up next, a 7:30pm ET showdown with a hungry Arizona team who can smell the College World Series. How do the Canes respond? This is a veteran team who simply made too many mistakes and didn’t capitalize on their opportunities. Can Miami rebound tonight? How bad do this kids want to keep this season alive?

Arizona is no joke. Miami knew that from the get go. The Wildcats were a top-ranked team early this year, stumbled a bit during the middle of the season and pulled things together down the stretch.

Many are still scratching their heads how the top-seeded Canes drew the Cats in the Super Regional, as many saw these two meeting up in Omaha. FSU gets Wichita State. Georgia gets NC State. North Carolina gets Coastal Carolina. Arizona State gets Fresno State. And all this on the heels of Miami facing Bethune-Cookman, Missouri and Ole Miss in last week’s regional.

Arizona had two pitchers taken in the first round of Wednesday’s MLB draft – Daniel Schlereth (out with an oblique strain) and Ryan Perry, who relieved for a few innings last night. That said, the Canes’ Carlos Gutierrez was a first rounder as well, and Jon Gaston found a way to rattle him for a three-run shot, on the heels of putting two batters on – on with a hit pitch.

The match up can be questioned, but a choke-job is still a choke-job.

Arizona pitchers sat down 12 Miami batters last night. Blake Tekotte, Mark Sobolewski, Ryan Jackson and Dave DiNatale were a combined 0-for-17. Nine batters were left on base – most in the middle innings when the Canes usually break out and bust a game wide open.

Miami had it’s best shot in the bottom of the ninth when Yasmani Grandal led off the inning with a double off the center field wall. Jonathan Weislow came in to pinch run. Tekotte struck out swinging. Jemile Weeks was hit by a pitch and with two on, Yonder Alonso looked to have belted a three-run shot of his own.

On a night where the Coral Gables breeze was blowing in. Alonso’s ball hung up too long and found it’s way into T.J. Steele’s glove instead of over the wall. Weislow took off on contact, couldn’t get back in time and a would-be, game winning home run turned into a double play with the game-winning run stuck on first.

How many opportunities do good teams get to beat other good teams over the course of a game?
Not as many as Miami needed last night, obviously. The lack of clutch hitting killed these Canes last night, in a game that never should’ve seen extra innings. A botched double play in the second inning, before a two-run shot didn’t help either. It was simply one of those night where Miami got no breaks, but also didn’t make any breaks of their own.

Now, Miami is painted into a corner and must show its mettle if it wants to reach their season-long dream of Omaha – the home of the CWS and the name of the Counting Crows song which oft plays over the PA speakers between innings.

Winning it all was the goal and now the Canes are one loss away from getting no closer to Omaha than when in front of their TVs next week – unless they pull it together immediately. No time for hanging their collective heads. Miami needs to wake up and show the mettle that allowed them to win fifty games this season.

Simply put, the Miami bats need to wake up. Chris Hernandez pitched a gem last night, retiring 14 consecutive hitters, striking out 6, and only giving up 3 hits and being responsible for 3 runs over 6.1 innings. Kyle Bellamy went 2.2 innings, with 2 hits and 6 strikeouts. Ironically enough, it was the ever reliable Gutierrez who made the game-changing mistake in the top of the 11th, after striking out 4 and only allowing 2 hits in 2 innings pitched.

Outside of a two-run shot by Dennis Raben in the bottom of the fourth, Miami’s offense was non-existent. Five combined hits aren’t going to get it done in the Super Regional. Arizona pitchers are big time – but not big time enough to stifle almost the entire Canes batting order.

Do or die tonight. Backs are to the wall. Two wins are needed for Omaha. Time to see what this team is made up. Jim Morris has oft said that these Canes rise to the occasion and rise to the level of their competition. Prove it.

This is some serious competition and there’s been no point of the season where Miami needed to rise up than tonight. One and done, or two and moving on. Time for these Canes to write their history. Last night was a winnable game and the Canes let it slip away. Time to right all of Friday’s wrongs and get two straight wins.

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