Congrats to Chris Hernandez

Your 2008 Baseball America National Freshman of the Year. UM's left-handed freshman ace boasted an 11-0 record with a 2.72 ERA with 117 strikeouts. He, along with the slew of players drafted in the first round of last month's MLB Draft, remains one of the lone bright spots in one of the most disappointing (if not the most) seasons in Hurricane baseball history. The Canes, after steamrolling their way through the regular season, spending most of the year at #1, laid an egg in the College World Series, being unceremoniously ejected after just 3 games.

Hats off to you, Mr. Hernandez - we'll be counting on you next year to be a young but already accomplished leader.

Getting Through July...

We are now entering the dullest of months in the sports world. NFL, NBA, and the NHL are all on hiatus. The Bigs are just getting to the halfway pole of its 162 game season. The Euro football tournament is done. Even the College World Series is wrapped up. So what better way to pass the time than to prognosticate. And if there's one thing I've found that gets the comment boards rolling, it's college football. So, without further delay, here's my take on the 3 Florida schools 2008 season.

First up, the Florida State Seminoles. Another disappointing finish in 2007, the 'Noles will be hoping on a relatively easy schedule to begin 2008 to get off to a quick start. FSU starts off with home games against Western Carolina, Chattanooga, Wake Forest, and than a "neutral site" game against Colorado in Jacksonville. Then comes the Miami game, and the Noles will travel south to face the 'Canes for what should be their first real test. Miami will already have played a couple tough ones, but we'll come to that later. The rest of the season actually shapes up pretty well for FSU. They get VA Tech, Clemson, BC, and Florida all at home. While wins in those games will be tough, this should be a step in the right direction for FSU.
Prediction: 8-4 (Miami, Clemson, BC, Florida losses)

Let's look at FSU's fellow ACC'ers, the Miami Hurricanes. Miami's 2007 season, much like FSU's, was one that should be forgotten. A 7-6 record that included an embarrassing end to the Orange Bowl is not what 'Canes fans are looking forward to in '08. A top recruiting class should also lend itself to a step forward after last year. If possible, Miami's schedule is even more favorable then Florida State's. The 'Canes avoid Clemson and Boston College, and get Virgina Tech at home. Miami does have 2 tough out-of-conference games on the road, first in the Swamp against the Gators. The following week, they head to College Station to play Texas A&M. A 3-1 start heading to the FSU game is not out of the question. A win against the 'Noles, and the Canes should be in contention in the ACC late into October.
Prediction: 9-3 (Florida, Virginia, VA Tech losses)

Now the Gators. Pre-season ranked #5 by ESPN's Mark Schlabach, the Gators will also be looking for an improvement on the 2007 season. A disappointing 5-3 SEC record, accompanied with a 41-35 shootout loss to Michigan in the Capital One Bowl should have the Gators more than focused heading into 2008. Many prognosticators, such as myself, believe this year's Gators to be a class above last years. Heisman winner Tim Tebow will actually have help in the backfield with newcomers Emmanuel Moody and Chris Rainey, along with returners Brandon Jacobs, Percy Harvin, and Louis Murphy. This could easily be the fastest offense college football has seen in decades. If the defense grows up even a little over last year, watch out. The Gators start the season with a couple of intriguing out-of-conference games, against Hawaii and Miami. Barring a major upset, the Gators then head to the annual 3rd week rivalry with the Tennessee Volunteers, which will be played in Knoxville. Since 1992, Florida or Tennessee has won the SEC East 13 times. The SEC schedule then gets a little easier, with games against Mississippi, Arkansas, and Kentucky making up 3 of the next 4. A weaker LSU comes to Gainesville in week 7. Then comes what should be the game of the year. Florida vs. Georgia. With the Bulldogs expected to make a serious run at the BCS title, this game will go miles to determine who's Orange Bowl dreams are kept alive. Georgia, also, only has Tennessee and LSU on the schedule to provide any sort of bumps on the road to Jacksonville. However, last year's Bulldog win will be in the heads of the Gators, similar to when Auburn came to the Swamp last year, and there will be no lack of power in red and black. But should the Gators get past the Dawgs, only Vanderbilt, South Carolina, the Citadel, and Florida State stand in the way of the Gators and possible title hopes.
Prediction: 11-1 (Georgia loss)

So maybe my orange and blue blood is showing. But the amount of talent and pure speed Florida will be able to put on the field is scary good. Mix that with a more experienced, talented defense, and they shouldn't have to rely on 49-35 wins this year. Florida State and Miami, both, should have improved seasons as well. I don't think its a stretch to see these to fighting for the ACC for much of the season. Game 1 is only 61 days away...

Crushing Disappointment for Canes

They rolled through the regular season like a team possessed. Besides a couple of notable slip-ups against Sun Belt competition and UNC, it didn't matter which team they faced or where. They acquired the most victories in school history (53) since 2001. And when it all mattered, the Canes folded, and are now heading home without a College World Series title.

It was complete and utter domination by the Stanford Cardinal, who beat the Canes 8-3 on Wednesday to stay alive and meet Georgia to determine who advances in Omaha to the championship round. The Cardinal rocked UM starter Enrique Garcia for 5 runs on 8 hits in 4 1/3 innings. By the 6th inning, it was 8-1 and you could see the futile desperation in every Miami swing of the bat thereafter. The Canes, who had made a living off of scoring double digit runs in the regular season, suffered from a monumental offensive collapse that will have Canes baseball faithful scratching their heads for a long time. For a team that had typified offensive pyrotechnics throughout the season, it was quite dismaying to see their bats so loudly silent.

And so it ends for Miami. They spent most of the year firmly entrenched in the top spot in all relevant college baseball polls. They won the school's first ACC championship. They had 3 players picked in the first round for the first time ever. But none of that consoles players or fans. They wanted to bring the 5th national baseball title back home to Coral Gables, and in that most important of measures, they failed quite spectacularly. Baseball is a game of streaks, and the point is that they were at their coldest when it mattered most, which proves them unworthy of being called champions. This team, for all of its promise, will be known as one of the biggest disappointments/teases in school history.

Hurricanes Still Alive at CWS; Noles Going Home

It was very nearly another catastrophic 9th inning collapse for closer Carlos Gutierrez and the Miami Hurricanes. After giving up four runs in the 9th on Friday to cost Miami it's opening round game versus Georgia, Gutierrez gave up another three runs in the 9th yesterday as the Canes beat rival FSU 7-5 in Omaha. The Seminoles finish the year 54-14, and have to be exceedingly disappointed at how they finished the year. The 4th-ranked team in the nation goes home without a single CWS win.

For the Canes, there were some heroes - Dannis Raben made a couple of outstanding defensive plays and had a couple of (crucial) RBI's. Eric Erickson played a marvelous game after coming in for injured starter David (please don't call me Carlos) Gutierrez. Erickson gave up one run in 5 innings of work. Jemile Weeks and Blake Tekotte added a couple of much-needed home runs ("blasts" would be more accurate). As for Carlos Gutierrez? One more closing effort like his past two and the Canes will be making expeditious flight arrangements back to Miami.

UM, now 53-10 on the season, plays another elimination game tomorrow night against Stanford. All the games the Canes play from now until the championship series will be win-or-go-home, and tomorrow's is no exception. I say the Canes beat the 40-23-2 Cardinal, though not if they don't get their closer's mind right. After all, remember what Stanford did in the 9th versus FSU last week.

UM On The Precipice Of Epic Fail

The Miami Hurricanes were 52-9 heading into Saturday night's opening round match-up with the Georgia Bulldogs in Omaha for the College World Series. Of course, they could have been 61-0 or 43-18 and it would have all been the same. Everyone goes into the CWS with a blank slate record of 0-0. Nobody cares what you did before, only how you make your mark in the town that Warren Buffet built. And so the Canes find themselves, despite an unprecedentedly good season, on the brink of elimination and one of the most disappointing meltdowns in Hurricane history, after losing to the Dawgs 7-4 on the shaky closing of usually-reliable Carlos Gutierrez.

To put their long odds into perspective, to even get to the best-of-3 championship series, Miami must win four consecutive elimination games in a span of six days. Lose just one more time, and they go home with nothing. Only two teams in the last 28 years have won the CWS after losing the first game, including Oregon State most recently in 2006.

The first step on the improbable road to rebirth is defeating the 54-13 Florida State Seminoles. The Canes have beaten the Noles 2 out of 3 this season, the last one being the most heated and controversial, with tempers flaring and braggadocio, insensitivity, and fan stupidity winning the day. One of these two state powers is going home today, and we'll see who beginning at 2 pm. I'm predicting the Canes by at least 5, but I'm not going so far as to predict a Canes CWS title...not yet, anyways. The key, as always, will be pitching.

Off to Omaha For UM!

Well, they certainly know how to make us sweat. But in the end, amidst the blood, sweat, and tears, the Miami Hurricanes prevailed over a pesky Arizona Wildcats squad that simply refused to hospitably roll out a red carpet for Miami on their way to Omaha, Nebraska for the College World Series. The Hurricanes defeated Arizona 4-2 in the deciding Game 3 of the NCAA super regional Sunday night in Coral Gables. After the scoring-intensive first two games of the series, the third game was a defensive battle by comparison.

UM went up 3-0 in the first, helped in large part by first-round pick Yonder Alonso's two-run homer. In the fourth, the Cats managed a two-out rally which led to two runs in the fourth to make it 4-2. It would be the end of the scoring for the evening. Arizona starter Eric Berger allowed just four runs on six hits and two walks in 7 2/3 innings. Only three of the four runs were earned. Against such an explosive hitting lineup for the Canes, it was an inspired effort by Berger, only to be matched by UM starter Enrique Garcia's two runs (one earned) on seven hits in six innings. UM's bullpen, a question mark heading into this series, took the Canes the rest of the way -Kyle Bellamy, Chris Hernandez, and Carlos Gutierrez held off the Cats to bring the Canes one step closer to their 5th national title.

If you haven't seen highlights of Gutierrez's stop in the 8th and Ryan Jackson's catch-and-throw in the 9th to seal the deal, do so - they are among the best plays made so far in the postseason by any team.

As Promising As Future Is, Deck Still Stacked Against UM Football

The Miami Hurricanes suffered a huge blow to their (premature) plans to begin their re-ascent in the college football world in 2008. Senior defensive end Courtney Harris suffered a torn Achilles, and will likely miss the 2008 season. This is particularly noteworthy considering the shocking lack of depth at the position, even penciling Harris in for this year. Here's what the Canes have - Returning starter Senior Eric Moncur, Sophomore phenom Allen Bailey (his strength and freakish athleticism are legend, although he may miss the first game of the season with a torn pectoral muscle), Sophomore Adewale Ojomo, Sophomore Steven Wesley, and not-yet-qualified (and two-star) true Freshman Andrew Smith. That's it.

When you're coming off a 5-7 season, and you are talking rebirth to people, you can't have many weak links in your chain, and defensive end, especially with another injury, is a weak link, at least on paper. The Canes will definitely have to consider shoring up the position by having players at other positions switch over. Some candidates include true freshmen linebackers Marcus Robinson and Gavin Hardin (Hardin's the more likely to make the move), and junior Richard Gordon (who's already changed positions at least twice in his career).

Miami One Step Closer to CWS

The University of Miami baseball team has just one more hurdle to clear, #23-ranked Arizona, before it can stamp its ticket to Omaha, Nebraska for the College World Series. The Hurricanes, 50-8 on the season and ACC champions, defeated the Rebels of Ole’ Miss on Sunday 11-2 to cap off a sweep in the Coral Gables regional.

The Canes had arguably the toughest draw of the NCAA Tournament, especially in terms of pitching, and they had their hands full on Friday and Saturday nights as they defeated Bethune-Cookman and Missouri in dramatic, come-from-behind fashion. On Sunday, the storyline was different – Ryan Jackson, Jemile Weeks, Dennis Raben, Dave DiNatale, and Yasmani Grandal all fueled the Canes to a 7-2 lead by the end of the 3rd inning. Eric Erickson was back to his old form on Sunday, allowing just two earned runs and six hits with a walk in seven innings. Jackson was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Coral Gables regional – he went 6 for 11 with 2 HR and 4 RBI.

UM’s next task is to take down the Arizona Wildcats, and former UF coach Andy Lopez, in a best of three series to determine who will head to Omaha. The Wildcats are 41-17 on the year, and got to this point by winning the Ann Arbor regional. The Canes are surging at the right time, their confidence is high, their hitting is potent, and, most importantly, their pitching is looking up to the task for the first time in a long while. I predict that the Canes will dispose of Arizona in two games.

Florida State continues on...

Apparently the Florida State Seminoles were told the NCAA tournament started on Saturday. After being shutout by Bucknell in the first game Friday, FSU exacted revenge in extreme fashion, 24-9 today. This coming after a 17-11 win yesterday over Florida. Thats 41 runs in 2 games... Wow.

Florida State must now win 2 straight over the Green Wave of Tulane, who defeated Florida and then Bucknell to earn the 3rd game bye. Should the Seminoles win the first game tonight, a championship game would be played tomorrow.

The Miami Hurricanes won their first 2 games, although they failed to break the 40 run barrier. The 'Canes learned their opponent earlier today as well. They will play Ole Miss, who won their elimination game earlier this afternoon over Missouri, 9-6. Miami needs just 1 win over Ole Miss in 2 tries to earn a spot in an NCAA Super Regional.

Florida State explodes for 17 runs, eliminates Florida

What Freddy Kruger, Jason, and that weirdo from the Texas Chainsaw Masscre is to 19 year old sexy coeds, so is today's Florida\Florida State baseball game to pitchers. The Florida State Seminoles eliminated the Florida Gators from the NCAA tournament today by a final score of 17-11. The two teams combined for 35 hits (25 by FSU, 10 by UF). Two big innings by the Seminoles proved too much for the Gators to overcome. A 7-run, 5th inning, in which FSU sent 13 men to the plate, combined with a 5-run 7th inning provided the difference for the Seminoles, who now advance to play the loser of the Bucknell\Tulane game, which will be played this evening.

The Gators actually had a 5-1 lead after the 3rd inning. The Seminoles cut the lead to 5-2 in the 4th, and then came the eruption of offense. After Florida State scored 7 times to take a 9-5 lead, the Gators rallied right back to tie the game at 9 with 4 runs of their own in the bottom of the 5th, thanks in large part to a 3-run home run by Clayton Pisani. That would be the last time the game was close. FSU extended their lead to 15-9 in the top of the 7th, thanks to a 3-run homer of their own by junior Tony Delmonico. Mr. Baseball and probable top-5 draft pick Buster Posey contributed a 2-run home run of his own and the Seminoles easily closed out the final 2 frames for the win.

In other Florida baseball action, while I am typing, the Huricanes of Miami hold a 5-0 lead in the 3rd inning over Missouri in their winner's bracket game. A win for the 'Canes would give them a bye into the Coral Gables Regional championship game.

Topsy Turvy Opening Day to NCAA Baseball Regionals

Top seeds went down all over the country today, including in Tallahassee. The #1 seed Florida State Seminoles and the #2 seed Florida Gators were defeated in the opening round of the NCAA baseball tournament. #1 overall seed Miami was able to get by Bethune-Cookman.

The Seminoles were blanked 7-0 by Bucknell and senior pitcher Matt Wilson, who pitched a complete game shutout, allowing only 6 hits. All the scoring was done in the first 4 innings, as the Bison put up 3 runs in both the 2nd and 4th frames.

Meanwhile, in the early game in Tallahassee, the Tulane Green Wave sent 11 men to the plate in a 6 run 7th inning to defeat the Florida Gators, 7-4. The Gators had just scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 6th to take a 4-1 lead before Tulane erupted in the 7th. Reliever Billy Bullock entered the game with 2 on and nobody out with a 4-1 lead. He faced 5 batters, allowed 3 hits, a walk, and a sacrifice fly. He left the game trailing 6-4, after giving up 3 runs (plus the 2 runners he inherited coming into the game scored, as well as one runner that was on base when he was yanked also scored). To be fair, while Florida had 4 hits in their 4-run 6th inning, they managed just 4 hits in the other 8 frames and never really threatened.

What all this means is that Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. EST, Florida will play Florida State in an elimination game. Some may have predicted Florida being in this situation, but not many people could have forseen a matchup with FSU in the loser's bracket. Florida State won the regular season series, 2-1. Both teams won a game on their home field, while FSU took the relatively new, annual neutral-field site game in Jacksonville. But all that is meaningless now. Lose tomorrow and your season is over.


Other top seeds that find themselves in the loser's bracket on day 2 include #8 Georiga (who lost 10-7 to Lipscomb), #18 Long Beach State (7-3 losers to Fresno State), #19 Texas (losing 2-1 to St. John's), #20 Stanford (were beat 4-2 by UC Davis), and #21 Vanderbilt (8-5 to Oklahoma).

Hurricane Football Freshmen Honored

The 2007-2008 All-Dade Breakfast took place yesterday, and a slew of Hurricane true freshmen took home honors. The biggest honor of the night went to 2008 starting cornerback (yeah, I said it) Brandon Harris. Harris starred at Miami Booker T. Washington High School and led his team to the 4A state championship, and on Tuesday won Miami-Dade's Male Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row. Interestingly, Brandon's father Tim, or "Ice" (how bad a man do you have to be to be nicknamed "Ice"?), was named Dade Coach of the Year. "Ice" is now at the U holding a vague and unclassified position. Last I heard it was officially a non-football job, yet Ice has been seen hitting the recruiting trail with the rest of the football coaches.

The two-time state champ and 2008 national champ Northwestern Bulls were also well represented yesterday, as quarterback Jacory Harris was named 6A-4A Offensive Player of the Year and linebacker Sean Spence was named Defensive Player of the Year. While Jacory faces a formidable challenge in taking the starting job from favorite Robert Marve, he did break dozens of county records and showed remarkable leadership over the past couple of years as the Bulls steamrolled virtually everybody they faced in that span. Spence sees a thin linebacking corps in front of him, and word on the street is that his football IQ and tackling ability make him as good a candidate as any to be the next Jonathan Vilma. I predict he'll see some starting action this season.

God it feels great to have a good excuse to write about college football again...

Nothing is Guaranteed for Hurricanes Baseball Team

After a riveting ride through the ACC Tournament, which saw the Canes winning their first ACC championship in school history (they joined the ACC in 2005), the Canes are now thrown into the proverbial lion's den to face arguably the toughest pitchers in any NCAA regional taking place this weekend. Miami, who is 47-8 and the #1 team in collegiate baseball (again), faces Bethune-Cookman on Friday at 4 p.m. at Mark Light Field. The other two teams in the Coral Gables regional are #2 seed Missouri and #3 seed Ole' Miss.

Bethune-Cookman, while the #4 seed this weekend and only 36-20 on the season, will send Hiram Burgos to the mound. Burgos has the nation's lowest ERA at 1.20. On the bright side for Miami is that they gave Burgos his only loss of the season. Not that the Canes would ever worry. After all, they did just win the ACC, which features six teams playing in the NCAA regionals, including #4-ranked FSU.

In a statement that must make most Canes fans smile, phenom 1B Yonder Alonso said of Miami's tough regional draw, "Why not? We're Miami. Nothing is easy, and if I want a ring, I want it the hard way." Somewhere Melvin Bratton, Warren Sapp, and Ed Reed are also smiling at the latest expression of the us-against-the-world mentality from a Hurricanes player. It's tough, it's brash, it's cocky, it's old-school Miami. We'll see beginning this weekend if the outward swagger translates into post-season success and a 5th national baseball title.

Florida NCAA baseball fates revealed

2 of the Big 3 Florida schools will host an NCAA regional next week.

The #1 National Seed Miami Hurricanes will host Bethune-Cookman, Ole Miss, and Missouri in what looks like the "group of death." You would have thought being the #1 overall seed would have gotten you a little easier path...

The #4 seed Florida State Seminoles will welcome Bucknell, Tulane, and the Florida Gators to Tallahassee. The Gators were hoping to host their own regional, but with the early exit in the SEC Tournament, those hopes evaporated.

The SEC tied its own NCAA record of having 9 teams invited to the Tournament. The ACC has 3 of the top 4 overall seeds (#1 Miami, #2 UNC, #4 Florida State). Regional action kicks off Friday, May 30.

Canes Win In Wildest Of Fashions

The Miami Hurricanes prevailed in the second game of the ACC Tournament Thursday evening in Jacksonville, 15-12, over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, in a game that was as wild as it was long (just under 4 hours). It was one of the wildest, most action-packed contests I can remember watching - one of those barn-burners in which no lead, however large, was safe.

Homeruns abounded as the Canes tied the single-game ACC Tournament record of 6 bombs. Yonder Alonso and Dave DiNatale both had 2, while Blake Tekotte and freshman sensation Yasmani Grandal each chipped in another. The most clutch of them all was DiNatale's second homer of the night. With UM trailing 12-11 in the top of the 9th, DiNatale hit a 3-run shot to deep left-center to put the Canes ahead for good.

The most concerning aspect of the night for the Canes was that their pitching again got exposed. Besides freshman wunderkind Chris Hernandez, who holds an 11-0 record this season, the pitching has been less-than-stellar. It may not cost you games against Georgia Tech, but it will most assuredly cost you games in the CWS. You simply cannot expect to win all the marbles if you have to put up double digit runs every game just to eke out victories.

Next up for Miami is NC State on Saturday. Win against the Wolfpack and the Canes advance to the title game on Sunday.

Canes Open ACC Tourney Strong, Slam Clemson

The #3 Miami Hurricanes (44-8) downed the Clemson Tigers Wednesday afternoon in Jacksonville in the first game of the ACC Tournament. They defeated the Tigers 7-1 after another overpowering performance by freshman pitcher Chris Hernandez. Hernandez, 11-0 on the season, gave up just 4 hits in 8 innings, and struck out 10. This looks like a future MLB star, folks. Also notable were the performances of Mark Sobolewski, Ryan Jackson, and Joey Terdoslavich. The Canes play the Ramblin' Wreck of Georgia Tech (who still calls them that?) at 5 p.m. today.

I have mixed feelings about how important this Tournament is. On the one hand, winning it gets you a trophy, but not really the one you are striving for. Trying too hard in this tourney, you may get one of the critical pieces to your CWS puzzle unnecessarily injured. On the other hand, in the sense of being able to build momentum going into the regionals and supers, winning this tourney would be nice. Getting a good head of steam going into the "real" post-season really puts a team a step ahead in the race for the grandest prize of them all.

Canes baseball suffers late setback, but end-of-season honors flow like wine

Two nights after I felt vindicated, the Hurricanes baseball team brought me right down and made me look foolish. I thought they'd rise to the occasion, at home, to make a "statement" this weekend about who the preeminent team in the country was. Alas, they did not, and UNC is the new top dog. Even club stud Yonder Alonso had to concede on Saturday that UNC deserved the honors. As disappointing as the late-game slide was, it means nothing. The Canes finish 43-8 (23-5 in the ACC), #2 in the country, and enter the post-season poised to host regionals and super-regionals, and have as good a shot as any team to ascend to the pinnacle of the sport.

Speaking of pinnacles, Jim Morris was named ACC coach of the year on Monday. The Canes also had 8 guys selected to the All-ACC team. Chris Hernandez was named ACC Freshman of the Year, while Hernandez, Blake Tekotte, Yonder Alonso, Jemile Weeks, Ryan Jackson, and Mark Sobolewski all garnered 1st-team All-ACC honors. Rounding out the honoraria, pitchers Eric Erickson and Carlos Gutierrez were named 2nd-team all-conference.

Bats Wake Up, #1 Canes Rock the #2 Tar Heels

Remember those questions I ruminated on in my last post about Hurricanes baseball? Remember how Miami put up a dreary effort against the North Florida Ospreys, and I was wondering aloud whether this team had the mental toughness or even the interest in making a deep post-season run? I concluded that yes, Virginia, the Canes are for real - it just takes them playing the highest quality opponents to bring out their best.

Sure enough, on Thursday night, the #1 Hurricanes proved me right, and coasted to a 12-2 victory over #2-ranked North Carolina at Mark Light Field. Chris Hernandez earned the victory, bringing his record to a perfect 10-0. Yonder Alonso, meanwhile, makes me sound like a broken record. Let me say it YET again...Yonder Alonso came up huge last night. He hit a grand slam off of UNC's ace Alex White, and elevated his batting average to a preternatural .381. The homer marked his 17th of the season, tops in the ACC. Speaking of the ACC, the Canes clinched the #1 seed for the ACC tournament beginning Wednesday in Jacksonville. The Canes are 23-3 in the conference, and 43-6 overall.

Also worth noting, a rarity in South Florida - a standing-room only crowd for a game. Granted, it was only 3,250 fans, but it was enough to secure that most bizarre of occurrences - a South Florida sellout. You might want to look outside for flying pigs now.

Canes Survive Another Scare

The consensus #1 Miami Hurricanes needed a fifth inning rally to defeat the North Florida Ospreys (27-25) at Mark Light Field Tuesday night. The Canes have rarely been vanquished this season, posting a 42-6 record, but they have lost to FIU, FAU, and were looking like they were on their way to losing against North Florida. It seems that the key to College World Series this year rests on not having to face non-elite Florida schools.

To game action...the Canes were down 1-0 in the 5th, and had only 3 hits up to that point. Coach Jim Morris has been vocal about his team's lull in hitting prowess the last few weeks, after an absolutely torrid start to the season, in which most games would find the Canes scoring 10 or more runs. The hitting slumber continued on Tuesday night, before Jemile Weeks started things off with a single in the 5th, setting the stage for Yonder Alonso to come up gargantuanly (something very typical this season) with his 16th HR of the season to make it 2-1. After that, Blake Tekotte, Dave DiNatali, and Mark Sobolewski helped pad the lead and secure the victory.

Next up for UM...the #2-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels for a three game series at The Light. It won't be easy - the Tar Heels lead the country with a 2.30 ERA and the Canes have had hitting problems (see above). But don't let last night fool you...just as easily as the Canes play down to their mediocre competition, they play up to their stellar competition. They'll be amped and ready for a hitting revival. Prediction: Canes take two out of three from the Heels this weekend in Coral Gables.

Miami: America's Baseball Mecca

The Florida Marlins and the Miami Hurricanes are atop the baseball world. For a South Florida starved for a winner, it is exhilarating to watch these two clubs ascend to the pinnacle of America's pastime. Neither have won any sort of title yet, but it has been uber-fun to watch the climb.

After sweeping the Washington Nationals this weekend to make it 7 wins in a row and 8 in the past 9 games, the Marlins now possess the best record in major league baseball. They have also seemed to lock down one of the game's very best in Hanley Ramirez for six more seasons. Even more promising than the team's on-field success is the recent willingness shown by the front office to actually let the fans continue to see a player they have grown to know and love for many years to come. Among major league fans, I would venture to say that none have as much reason to peer optimistically into the future as Marlins fans.

The Miami Hurricanes baseball team, who must be getting bored at #1 in the polls after spending a huge chunk of the season there, took 2 out of 3 this weekend against the Virginia Tech Hokies. Blake Tekotte, Dennis Raben, and Enrique Garcia (who allowed just 2 hits in 8 innings in the second game of a doubleheader Saturday) all starred for Miami. The Canes are now 41-6 (22-3 in the ACC).

So smile, South Florida - your long regional nightmare is over, and your baseball teams are hijacking the summer.