Canes Closing in on Supers

By David Furones

Special to CollegeBaseballInsider.com

 

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Miami Hurricanes took a major step in their bid to return to a Super Regional for the first time since 2010.

 

With another fast start, Miami, the fifth seed nationally, took the driver’s seat in the Coral Gables Regional with an 8-3 win over Columbia, the No. 3 seed in the Regional, on Saturday night at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.

 

The Hurricanes (46-14) can advance to a Super Regional with a win at 7 p.m. on Sunday night.

 

They’ll face a team playing a double-header as Ivy League champion Columbia (32-16) must now play fourth-seeded FIU, which ousted East Carolina earlier Saturday, in an elimination game to determine who plays 2-0 Miami.

 

For the storied Miami baseball program – with four national championships, 23 College World Series appearances and a record 43 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances – a win Sunday night could relieve the frustration from falling in Regionals the past four seasons, two of them which the Canes hosted.

 

“It’s a goal of ours of course and a goal to go to the World Series,” Miami coach Jim Morris said. “Part of that is that one step in getting ourselves in the position we’re in, winning a Regional, winning a Super Regional to get there. You need to complete all your goals to reach your ultimate goal.”

 

Miami cleanup hitter Zack Collins drove in three runs – two on a double in the fourth and another on an RBI single in the eighth, and Brandon Lopez went 3 for 5 for the Canes.

 

UM starter Thomas Woodrey (7-2), the left-hander who came into the game having allowed just two earned runs in his past 24 innings, earned the win but gave up three earned runs on six hits (two home runs) and striking out five over 5.2 innings.

 

His evaluation of his performance?

 

“Not my best,” Woodrey said. “I expect to do better than that. It was big to have a lead the entire game, and that helped keep me calm.”

 

Morris then turned to his bullpen, which did not give up a run. Danny Garcia pitched a perfect 1.1 innings in relief, retiring all four batters he faced. Cooper Hammond, Michael Mediavilla and closer Bryan Garcia went the rest of the way.

 

Miami, which has made a name for itself scoring early and often, jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second.

  

Willie Abreu sliced a double deep into the left-field corner with the bases loaded to drive home the first two runs of the game. Jacob Heyward followed with an RBI single through the right side, and Abreu later scored when Christopher Barr reached on a fielder’s choice.

 

“We like to get out in front in the beginning obviously: That keeps the momentum on our side, and we built on that,” said Abreu, who finished 2-for-4. “We’re lucky enough to have great pitching to hold us down and be able to score more runs.”

 

Columbia now must play a day game Sunday after Saturday night’s loss that took three hours and 51 minutes, and then turn Sunday into a doubleheader if it were to advance through the elimination game, potentially playing three games over 27 hours.

 

“In the Ivy League we’re used to playing doubleheaders,” said Mike Weisman, who pitched 3.2 innings in relief, giving up two runs on five hits and striking out four. “I think we’ve done a good job of bouncing back and kind of used to getting into that mentality. We’ll try to regroup tonight and approach it like that tomorrow.”

 

The Lions responded to the Canes’ four-run second with a solo home run to right by Gus Craig in the bottom of the inning.

 

“I thought our guys stuck with it and continued to play hard the whole way through,” Columbia coach Brett Boretti said.

 

In the fourth, David Vandercook drilled a two-run shot to right that looked vastly similar to Craig’s blast. Craig and Vandercook had Columbia’s only two multi-hit efforts.

 

Vandercook felt his home run could get momentum back on the Lions’ side.

 

“We felt pretty good, definitely within closing distance,” Vandercook said. “We were able to get back on the scoreboard after they put two up in the top of that inning.”

 

Columbia starter Kevin Roy (6-4) struggled in 3.2 innings. He allowed six earned runs on six walks and five hits.

 

The Lions have used all four of their primary starters in their first two games, and Boretti said he will start sophomore right-hander Ty Wiest, who is 3-1 with a 2.30 ERA mostly out of the bullpen.

 

Game Notes

·    Miami leadoff man Ricky Eusebio walked his first three plate appearances Saturday. Eusebio, who reached with a single his fourth time up, tied his career high for walks in a game. His 48 walks are second on the team.

·    With the home runs of Craig and Vandercook, the Lions now have knocked three dingers in the Coral Gables Regional.

·    Although Columbia scored its three runs earlier on home runs, it didn’t have a runner reach second base until the eighth.

·    Like in the day game in Coral Gables Saturday, there was another interference call on a runner trying to break up a double play that ended an inning. Columbia fell victim to the rule in the fifth when Logan Boyher was called out of the base line on his slide breaking up a play where the batter Jordan Serena would’ve beaten out the throw to first easily.

·    Abreu just missed a home run on a high fly ball to the warning track in right that he admits he thought was gone. He said, “I missed a few workouts this week, but don’t worry, I’ll be in the weight room tomorrow morning.”

·    Morris said he will “probably” send remaining weekend starter Enrique Sosa on Sunday night. Sosa is 6-0 at home this season and Miami has not lost any of his home starts.