Miami Baseball Comes Inches Away From Return to Omaha, Ends Season In Louisville

Think of a boxing match when looking at this game. In the first two innings, both teams were feeling each other out. Some jabs with a few singles and hits given up, but nothing sustained. Starter Reese Lumpkin grounded out several Cardinals, while the Hurricanes had a few flyouts. 

Through two innings, both teams struggled to make anything happen until the top of the third. An amazing surprise for UM this postseason has been freshman Michael Torres. He has found confidence at bat singling to get himself on base. Then the Hurricanes dealt the first heavy blow of the game. 

In the two games that Max Galvin has been great against the Cardinals, the wind has been blowing in his favor towards right field. When he saw the plate again, he rocketed a ball to that sweet spot to give the Canes a 2-0 lead at the top of the third. 

Quickly, an adjustment from the Cardinals started to put more balls in the field, which allowed them to score two runs in the fourth. A few straights landed against the Canes, making the game 2-2, or for everyone in Jim Patterson Park, 0-0.

The Cardinals rallied against the Canes with the bases loaded against Will Smith. Smith trusted his stuff and got out of his troubles to put up another zero on the board for the Canes.

The following frame shows that the Canes were in the same situation. Bases loaded with one out, and they couldn’t take advantage of the situation. Once again, a stalemate heading into the seventh. 

These teams finished right next to each other in the ACC Standings this season, and they were playing like it. A tight-nit game that was bound to go down to the wire. 

Pressure continued to mount for both teams, and someone had to crack. Unfortunately, it was the Canes. Torres has been all world defensively this season, but with two outs in the bottom of the seventh with two outs, he had a chance to make a play. Diving for the ball hit by Eddie King Jr, he closed his glove too early, and the game-winning run was brought in. 

"You know, I knew [King Jr.] didn't get it good," Smith emotionally said after the game. "I saw [Torres] back there. I'm screaming at him, at the top of my lungs, to come in, and I know he's running as fast as he can. He had a great effort on there, and that's just baseball sometimes, man. Sometimes you make those plays, sometimes you don't. That's why they're always on SportsCenter if he makes that play."

The Canes tried to rally with Daniel Cuvet's double in the eighth, but the trend today for the Canes was flyouts. That is how their season ended as well. Jake Ogden, with the last at bat of the season, had a fly out, punching the Cardinals' ticket to Omaha and the Canes' ticket back to Coral Gables. The Hurricanes end their season better than they did last year, with a bright future ahead. The outcome was disappointing, but JD Arteaga is still proud of what this team turned into. 

"We were a step closer," Arteaga said. "Not where we want to be, but just a step closer. And I'm satisfied that we were close, but we're not in this to just get close, you know, but we're closer today or yesterday, and definitely closer than what we were last year."

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