All season long, they have been a force at home.
The Hurricanes have posted a 28-5 record at Mark Light Field. They’ve put together more than a few late-inning comebacks there and their fans, as always, have been a part of it all.
Now, as Miami turns its focus to the NCAA Tournament, it does so knowing its road to Omaha and the College World Series will, once again, start right at home in Coral Gables.
On Sunday night, hours after making their first appearance in the ACC Championship Game in 11 years, the Hurricanes learned that once again, they’d be hosting an NCAA Regional.
On Monday, they learned they’d face Maine in their Friday night regional opener, while Louisiana and Texas will face off on the other side of the regional bracket.
The Hurricanes are ready to get back on the field – especially after a successful run in Durham saw them notch three wins, including a 7-2 victory over Wake Forest, the nation’s top-ranked team who on Monday, was announced as the overall No. 1 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament.
It’s a marked change from where the Hurricanes were a year ago when they entered the NCAA Tournament having lost three of their last four games before their regional opener.
Miami wound up winning that opener against Canisius – then dropped two games by a run each. The Hurricanes’ tournament run ended, their season ended and Mississippi – the team that won the last Coral Gables Regional – went on to win the College World Series.
None of Miami’s veterans have forgotten that feeling and while they’ve repeatedly said they aren’t dwelling on the past, the need to play better baseball in the postseason has been a point of emphasis throughout the month of May.
“Obviously, last season, we kind of had like a down slip going into the regional and we used that as motivation to flip the script,” said two-time All-ACC first-team selection and All-American closer Andrew Walters, who enters the regional tournament with a 1.08 ERA, 11 saves and 68 strikeouts in 41.2 innings pitched. “This season, we’re on the way up and we’re playing some of our best baseball going into this regional. So, it’s a different feeling for sure and [we’re] looking to just carry that on.”
Said Hurricanes head coach Gino DiMare, “It’s an exciting time of year. Proud of our guys, the way we’ve played down the stretch. Just heard [Walters] talking about how we’re going into the regional with probably a little different mindset, feeling as a team going into this regional than last year [when] we kind of limped into it a little bit. I think we’re playing some of our best baseball right now. I like where our team’s mindset is.”
That, they know, could be a significant advantage as they try to make a push to Omaha starting Friday night when they take on fourth-seeded Maine, which won the America East Conference title this past weekend.
“We’re here at home for a reason. We’ve played well at home this year,” DiMare said. “It certainly would benefit us to have a lot of people in here making a lot of noise for us and cheering for our Canes. Our players have worked hard and hopefully, the fans will come out here and support them…We’re trying to get to Omaha. That’s always our goal.”
Said Levenson, “We love playing here. We love playing in front of our fans. We have a lot of confidence playing here and it’s always great playing here in our home dugout, too…It’s just the comfortableness of just everything here. It’s great being in Miami. It’s going to give us good energy.”