Miami Baseball HC J.D. Arteaga: Alabama 'A Faceless Opponent'

There are two main similarities between Alabama baseball coach Rob Vaughn and Miami (Fla.) head coach J.D. Arteaga. Both men are in year two leading their programs, and both those programs come face-to-face this Friday afternoon in game one of the Hattiesburg Regional.

For Arteaga, it is his first NCAA Tournament appearance as a head coach. Miami (31-24) caught fire in the late stages of the regular season (though it wilted over the final weekends) and earned the No. 3 seed in the regional.

The Hurricanes' coach met with reporters on Tuesday and talked about his team's postseason berth, which included mention of the Crimson Tide as Miami's first tournament adversary. Alabama third baseman Jason Torres, who played for Arteaga last season, did not come up.

"I always get asked this question for the last 24 years," Arteaga said. "The name on the jersey doesn't matter. The conference they come from doesn't matter. They're obviously doing something right... It's just another opponent, a faceless opponent."

Torres made the midseason watch list for the Golden Spikes Award last spring during Arteaga's maiden campaign as the skipper. The season fizzled out for the slugging first baseman after 39 games (due to injury) and the Hurricanes missed out on the field of 64 with a 27-30 overall record.

"It's good to be back, good to be back in the postseason," Arteaga said Tuesday. "We definitely are on our way back to where we want to be." Miami has won four national titles, most recently in 2001. The program got its first the year before 1983 Alabama made the College World Series final.

Miami finished ACC play with a winning 15-14 mark following a 2-7 start to conference play. The team has been on a skid, entering Hattiesburg as losers of six out of its last seven contests. No. 2-seed Alabama got a win in its conference tournament. The Hurricanes did not.

"We've had our ups and our downs," Arteaga said. "That's what the season is. That's what life is... [If] we compete against ourselves and play our best baseball, we'll be okay."

ESPN2 will be the broadcast home for the game between the Crimson Tide (41-16) and Hurricanes. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT. The winner plays the victor of the nightcap between regional host Southern Miss (the No. 16 national seed) and Columbia on Saturday.