Alabama's Bats Fall Short in Regional Loss to Miami

HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Baseball is the most arbitrary sport ever created.

Anybody who forgot this fundamental truth about America's Pastime got a rude awakening on Friday, as Kade Snell hit what appeared to be a three-run, two-out, walk-off blast to centerfield to give Alabama a 6-5 win over Miami and move the Crimson Tide to the winner's bracket, just two wins away from a trip to its second Super Regional of the past 15 years.

Riley Quick, who had seen Hurricane batters drive two of his pitches over the wall just about an hour earlier, picked up Alabama head coach Rob Vaughn as the ball soared through the air, bear hugging him as the team prepared to celebrate the biggest moment of the season to date. But the wind, which had carried balls great distances all afternoon, had died down significantly, and Snell's hit, a surefire home run just innings earlier, fell harmlessly into the glove of centerfielder Michael Torres on the warning track, giving the Hurricanes the 5-3 win and moving the Crimson Tide to the brink of elimination.

"I just knew that ball was out off Kade's bat," Alabama head coach Rob Vaughn said. "That's this game. That's this game."

That final out, in many ways, sums up the entire day offensively for the Crimson Tide, as Alabama's bats fell just short all afternoon. The tone was set from the very first inning, as Justin Lebron hit a one-out double, moved to third on a Kade Snell flyout, and was stranded after Richie Bonomolo Jr. struck out swinging.

The Crimson Tide was stumped early by Miami starter AJ Ciscar. The All-ACC Freshman Team pitcher struck out four over the first three innings while allowing just two baserunners, but the most significant detail was just how fast he mowed through batters. Just one of Alabama's first 13 at-bats went more than four pitches.

"It was definitely a blessing to be able to get a start," Ciscar said. "You just kinda go in there and just throw strikes. Make the hitters score those runs. Don't just give it to them."

The fourth inning marked a sharp turnaround for the Crimson Tide. Snell was plunked, and Will Hodo and Jason Torres singled to load the bases with one out. Brady Neal grounded out, scoring Snell and advancing all runners, and Brennen Norton cleared the bases with a double to left field. Alabama would strand Norton and Coleman Mizell later that frame, but it appeared the bats had awakened.

Such notions were evidently preconceived. Lebron hit a leadoff single in the fifth, but Ciscar proceeded to record nine consecutive outs, stranding Alabama at first before recording 1-2-3 frames in the sixth and seventh innings.

"Credit to him. He makes it sound real easy," Hurricanes head coach J.D. Arteaga said of Ciscar. "To come back after a three-run inning in his first postseason start and settle back in and stick with what he knows works for him.. That's a special talent that's not very easy to teach."

Ciscar was replaced to start the eighth. He allowed just eight baserunners and three runs over his seven innings, striking out eight. Miami had produced five runs already, ensuring the ace was in line for the win. Alabama finally got a runner in scoring position in the eighth, with Snell hitting a leadoff single and Torres drawing just one of the team's two walks of the afternoon, but Neal went down swinging and Alabama was down to its final three outs.

After consecutive outs to start the final frame, Bryce Fowler came through with an at-bat that served as the antithesis of everything Alabama had done up until that point, taking Miami closer Brian Walters on a 13-pitch odyssey that featured seven consecutive foul balls, before he finally reached base on an error. Lebron proceeded to take a 94 mile per hour fastball to the ribs, setting up Snell's game-ending warning track flyout.

"We were about a foot short today," Vaughn said. "That's a hard one to swallow. Kade Snell deserved that thing to blow about a foot further and it just didn't."