Adam Clarke (Follow on Twitter)
Vishnu Parasuraman (Follow on Twitter)
The ‘Canes went to Greensboro with high expectations – they had a chance to pair a tournament title with their regular season ACC Championship, and the chance to secure a national seed for the NCAA Tournament. They left without the former, and played their way out of the latter. Miami dropped the first two games of the tournament to Georgia Tech and Clemson, respectively, but managed to beat Duke in extra innings on Saturday to avoid going winless.
In Wednesday’s opener, Miami jumped out to 1-0 and 3-1 leads over Georgia Tech, but could not hold on. The script was flipped for the ‘Canes, who over the last two months always seemed to get the runs late in close games to pull away. Cooper Hammond struggled in relief, giving up 2 runs in the seventh inning that ultimately doomed Miami, who lost 6-3.
The ‘Canes had to feel good about their chances in game 2, with ace Chris Diaz on the mound. But the Miami offense simply did not do enough after scoring the first two runs in the 3rd inning. Clemson chipped away at the ‘Canes lead, with runs in the bottom of the 3rd and 6th innings, before getting the walk-off win against Miami closer Bryan Garcia.
Out of contention for the Championship game, but now simply looking not to get swept out of the tournament, the ‘Canes faced off against Duke on Saturday. In a entertaining, back-and-forth game, Miami ultimately emerged victorious 6-5 in extra innings. Miami struck for two runs in the first inning, and from there maintained a one or two run lead until the ninth inning. Bryan Garcia, who gave up the game winning run to Clemson, blew a save opportunity when he gave up a 2-run home run in the bottom of the ninth. It wasn’t until the 12th inning, when a pair of freshman gave the ‘Canes the win. Jacob Heyward laced a lead-off double and eventually scored on a wild pitch, and Zack Collins hit a solo home run for what turned out to be a vital insurance run. Duke got one back in the bottom of the inning, but Javi Salas entered to get the final out and the save.
A 1-2 week for Miami will be a disappointment, particularly because they will feel that they had every opportunity to win the first two games. Had they done so, they might have hosted a super regional. Now, the only way that will happen is if UF does not win the Gainesville Regional. We will be back later in the week to preview all the teams in the regional.
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