Miami Ready To Host Regional Playoff

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.”

Comments

[roachcane77]

Let's Go CANES!🙌🏼

[Terrance Sullivan]

Going To Be A Real Tough Regional but we really need to win this Regional! Let's Go Canes!

[JCane]

For those interested, our regional winner is matched up against the #8 Stanford regional winner. UM needs to win and Stanford to lose to become a superregional host site, but I'm getting way ahead of myself here.

[Old Skool]

From an SI article on NILs

“It has all the appearances of an in-house payroll system,” he says. “This reflects how short-sighted schools are. Everybody is trying to out-compete the next guy, and they don’t have a strategy for tackling the big picture. In the course of doing this, they harm their long-term interest in protecting the amateurism model.”

Arthur Bryant, a lawyer specializing in Title IX violations, believes schools are violating the federal statute that prohibits gender-based discrimination. Male athletes are receiving more NIL cash than female athletes, he contends.

“Most colleges and universities in America are violating Title IX right now. What’s happening with NIL is just adding to that, sometimes massively,” he says. “It is impossible to know in some circumstances exactly how much the school is involved, but from public appearances, the schools are regularly involved and in some cases, they have to be involved.”

Belzer believes the foundation system and any non-profit collective is a “bad” business model that is certain to spell disaster in the end. “They are using it to get a tax writeoffs to pay student-athletes,” he says. “Unless you are OK with money laundering, you can’t pay athletes $20-30,000 a year through a non-profit.”

[Old Skool]

4 kick-off times announced

The Hurricanes will open their second campaign under the direction of head coach Mario Cristobal at Hard Rock Stadium against Miami (Ohio) on Friday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. on ACC Network.

The following week, Miami will host Texas A&M in a 3:30 p.m. nonconference showdown to be broadcast on ABC on Saturday, Sept. 9.

The Hurricanes continue their season-opening three-game homestand with a 7:30 p.m. tilt against Bethune-Cookman on Thursday, Sept. 14 on ACC Network.

Miami wraps up its regular season at Boston College on Friday, Nov. 24 with a 12 p.m. kickoff on ABC

[Old Skool]

Interesting tidbit regarding the Heat

Miami will finish this postseason with more points and starts from undrafted players than the other 15 teams that made the playoffs this year will -- combined

[CGNC]

Skool, I am loving the Heat. Also, notice if the Lakers and Celtics are not in the finals media doesn't know what to talk about. SMH

[Old Skool]

More tidbits courtesy of the Sun-Sentinel

The Miami Heat ranked last in scoring and and had a negative point differential in the regular season. The last team to be outscored by opponents and make the finals was the 1959 Minneapolis Lakers, and only three teams to finish last in scoring made the playoffs in the last 40 years

They shot 50 percent on 3-pointers in three games of the Eastern Conference finals against Boston. They only did that three times in the 82-game regular season.

Caleb Martin averaged 19 points, shot 49 percent on 3-pointers and had 135 points in the series against Boston. That’s the most points in a conference or NBA Finals by an undrafted player since the modern draft began in 1966.

Even Jimmy Butler had no college offers out of high school, went to junior college, was drafted in the no-man’s-land of the 31st pick and was given up on by three NBA teams.

[CGNC]

Jimmy Butler also went to Marquette for 3 years after Junior College. Glad he found his home with the Heat. #heatculture

[Old Skool]

Kitchens named to the Lott Trophy watch list

[JCane]

Texas downs Louisiana, 4-2, and Canes take down Maine, 9-1, to create tomorrow's all important winner's bracket game.

[JCane]

Noon loser bracket and 6pm winner bracket game today.

For those interested, #8 tnmt saw Stanford win their opener. Winner of UM regional would play at Stanford if Cardinal wins

[JCane]

Horns over UM, 4-1, top 6th

[Herbieibis]

Doink, here we go again.

[Terrance Sullivan]

Canes defeat Louisiana and Faces Texas in Regional Final tonight in 3 hours!

[MLALUMNI 1970]

MIAMI WINS!!🟧🟩On to the next game. I think, maybe tonight! GO CANES!
ON THE ROAD TO OMAHA.

[JCane]

Hoping for a win tonight so there can be a rematch tomorrow. Can't lose game 2 every year and expect to advance too often though.

Harder to dominate than it used to be. Lots of 1s have been eliminated, like Auburn, or are in loser bracket, like FU and our bracket's match-up, Stanford.

[Sarasota 'cane]

I’m not sure UM has stranded any Texas batters once they get on base. At this point you need to assume they’re gonna score if you can’t strike them out. UM will need to rely on their bats if they’re gonna win today.

Go ‘canes!

[BeyondBasura]

Canes are toast.

Miami heat basically the same as the Canes V UConn. Too much for out bois.

[JCane]

B6, 9-3, Texas. Gave up 9 in the 3rd. Not how you win games this time of year. Seems to be our max annually under DiMare. Can hope for an O explosion, bit wouldn't bet 9n it.

[JCane]

T8, 10-6. 2 outs. Could use a few baserunning to at least make things interesting

[JCane]

Ballgame and season.

[Herbieibis]

Pitching, it's as simple as that. Coughed up an 8 run inning to Clemson last week and a 9 spot to Texas today. Last year it was the bats, this year Pitching. Dimare is a good coach but I don't think he's the man to get them to Omaha consistently.

[Old Skool]

Heat creating the basketball version of the Air Raid offense.

In the playoffs, Miami's 3-pointers have begun to fall at an elite clip. Entering Game 2, the Heat had been the best 3-point shooting team in the playoffs at 38.7 percent. In the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics, the Heat shot 43.4 percent from 3 over seven games.

[CGNC]

Skool: LOL, glad they started Kevin Love last night. They are making the USS Jokic play hard minutes. If they keep that up and limit his assists, we can win this thing

[MLALUMNI1970]

Was hoping to go to Omaha. Never been. No Field of Dreams this year. But, love my Canes, and on to football. As I have said before, I will be 75 on July 16. None of us know how much time we have left.
Wierd, but I love my Canes more now, than when I was in school.🟧🟩

[JCane]

Spo should give a lesson to UM fb coaches, past and present, about making adjustments and making the most of who and what you've got.

[Terrance Sullivan]

JCAne lol Coach L and Coach Meier on Campus can teach Mario Cristofraud as some have started to call him in the College Football landscape about Coaching and Making Adjustments but sure Spo could as well. But Carry On!

[Terrance Sullivan]

I always here people praising Coach L and Coach Meier how they game plan and make adjustments and why players come to get coached up has anyone heard that about Mario Cristofraud or Manny Shannon Golden?????

[Terrance Sullivan]

Being A Elite Recruiter is Great but if you can't Coach the Team will still underperform!

[Old Skool]

Damn This is a shocker. I guess money talks and really big money screams (or sings siren songs)

The PGA Tour on Tuesday announced that it was merging with LIV Golf, the Saudi-funded breakaway league

I guess the Masters tournament winner will wear the green jacket and a green kaffiyeh.

[86Cane]

NEW BLOG IS UP!