Miami kicked off the opening round of the Hattiesburg regional with a matchup against 2-seed Alabama. And with all the noise about their stumble heading into the postseason, the 'Canes shut out all the noise, defeating Alabama 5-3 in a thriller.
For the 'Canes it came down to getting the lead first and never letting go, a theme of this season.
Miami pounced on Alabama ace Riley Quick as Jake Ogden got on with a walk before a Max Galvin double and Daniel Cuvet homer put the Hurricanes up by three.
And with the lead and all the pressure in the world as a Freshman, AJ Ciscar put the country on notice with a seven inning, three run start with eight strikeouts against a top-tier SEC offense.
Ciscar ensured the momentum was kept as he threw a scoreless opening three innings, keeping the Alabama offense second-guessing and his pitch count down. His scoreless opening allowed Miami to add an extra insurance run in the third as Renzo Gonzalez drove Cuvet in with an RBI single.
That insurance run proved clutch as Ciscar had a wobble in the fourth, hitting the opening batter before three runs were plated in the inning.
But once again, the Hurricane offense had Ciscar's back as Galvin launched what should've been his second homer of the day (first was brought back from over the wall) to extend the Hurricane lead 5-3.
From the fifth on this scoreline remained as both teams fought tooth-and-nail with eachother.
Ciscar parted ways in the eigth to make way for Carson Fischer who got two outs before being pulled for lefty Rob Evans in a matchup move. And with the winning run at the plate, Evans got the strikeout to leave Miami only needing three more outs.
But those outs weren't easy as Brian Walters came into close in the ninth. He made quick work of the bottom of the order to get two outs, but Alabama's Bryce Fowler reached on an error after the at-bat of the year that included nearly 15 pitches. And a hit-by-pitch to Justin Lebron later, Alabama had the winning run at the plate in Cade Snell.
Snell proceeded to launch one dead-center, bat flip back to the dugout, all while Mikey Torres was under it at the warning track.
The ballgame was over, and Miami heads to the winners side of the pool facing off against the winner of Columbia-Southern Miss, a game taking place later today.
And while many SEC fans wrote Miami off as it "just means more", this year, the ACC sends a total of nine teams fighting for the 2025 NCAA baseball championship (Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami (Florida), NC State, North Carolina, Wake Forest. Fans following ACC teams like Miami, NC State, North Carolina, and Wake Forest can use betting apps in NC o add an extra layer of excitement to the postseason, making predictions on which team will make it to Omaha.
Hurricane Fans will get an opportunity tommorow night at 9 p.m. ET as Miami will face off the other remaining undefeated team in the regional, a matchup that will surely bring more fireworks.
For the 'Canes it came down to getting the lead first and never letting go, a theme of this season.
Miami pounced on Alabama ace Riley Quick as Jake Ogden got on with a walk before a Max Galvin double and Daniel Cuvet homer put the Hurricanes up by three.
And with the lead and all the pressure in the world as a Freshman, AJ Ciscar put the country on notice with a seven inning, three run start with eight strikeouts against a top-tier SEC offense.
Ciscar ensured the momentum was kept as he threw a scoreless opening three innings, keeping the Alabama offense second-guessing and his pitch count down. His scoreless opening allowed Miami to add an extra insurance run in the third as Renzo Gonzalez drove Cuvet in with an RBI single.
That insurance run proved clutch as Ciscar had a wobble in the fourth, hitting the opening batter before three runs were plated in the inning.
But once again, the Hurricane offense had Ciscar's back as Galvin launched what should've been his second homer of the day (first was brought back from over the wall) to extend the Hurricane lead 5-3.
From the fifth on this scoreline remained as both teams fought tooth-and-nail with eachother.
Ciscar parted ways in the eigth to make way for Carson Fischer who got two outs before being pulled for lefty Rob Evans in a matchup move. And with the winning run at the plate, Evans got the strikeout to leave Miami only needing three more outs.
But those outs weren't easy as Brian Walters came into close in the ninth. He made quick work of the bottom of the order to get two outs, but Alabama's Bryce Fowler reached on an error after the at-bat of the year that included nearly 15 pitches. And a hit-by-pitch to Justin Lebron later, Alabama had the winning run at the plate in Cade Snell.
Snell proceeded to launch one dead-center, bat flip back to the dugout, all while Mikey Torres was under it at the warning track.
The ballgame was over, and Miami heads to the winners side of the pool facing off against the winner of Columbia-Southern Miss, a game taking place later today.
And while many SEC fans wrote Miami off as it "just means more", this year, the ACC sends a total of nine teams fighting for the 2025 NCAA baseball championship (Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami (Florida), NC State, North Carolina, Wake Forest. Fans following ACC teams like Miami, NC State, North Carolina, and Wake Forest can use betting apps in NC o add an extra layer of excitement to the postseason, making predictions on which team will make it to Omaha.
Hurricane Fans will get an opportunity tommorow night at 9 p.m. ET as Miami will face off the other remaining undefeated team in the regional, a matchup that will surely bring more fireworks.
