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As eloquently expressed by one of our writers: “Miami went from a double bye, to a single bye, to bye-bye.” In a flash, this is how the Miami Hurricanes concluded their regular-season play. Louisville needed to defeat Wake, which they accomplished, and all we had to do was replicate our performance from last night to secure the 8th seed and earn a bye, but we fell short. Instead, we now face California in game one at 9 AM. The sole advantage for the Canes is that California will feel like it’s 6 AM their time after making the long trek east on Sunday.
Just a day after Miami celebrated a remarkable 15 runs on 14 hits, a stark contrast emerged on the field as the team struggled with both pitching and hitting. The Canes’ pitching faltered significantly. They cycled through the bullpen as if it were a leaky faucet, with none of the five relievers after Tate managing to last more than two-thirds of an inning. The most notable brief appearance came from Jake Dorn, who tossed just three pitches. With the bullpen depleted, JD turned to mid-week starter Reese Lumpkin, who had a challenging outing, conceding four runs in the final two innings. This included a pivotal blow from Carson Tinney’s 16th home run of the season, capping a five-run surge that left many of the remaining fans sighing in disappointment as they exited Mark Light for the last time this season.
After their tough loss with three hits and a disheartening defeat on Friday night, Notre Dame demonstrated resilience by scoring first with two initial runs. The Canes appeared caught off guard on the second run, particularly Tanner Smith, who fell for the classic trick where a baserunner at first base tries to lure the catcher into making a throw to second while the runner races home to score. This exact scenario unfolded, allowing the runner at third base to score while the tag was delayed. This play indicated that an aggressive game was ahead, with Miami hoping to pick up the momentum from Friday night.
The Canes made a strong comeback, continuing their momentum. Jake started with a solid single and advanced to second base on a groundout, setting the stage for Daniel’s critical RBI single. The top of the order performed reliably throughout the game, accounting for six of the team’s seven hits. In contrast, the bottom of the lineup struggled, with Renzo being the lone contributor, hitting a single in the 6th inning. Maintaining consistent batting is essential, as it’s tough to achieve victories when offensive production drops noticeably after the first three batters, as was the case today.
In the fifth inning, Miami, still down by one run, managed to tie the game with a Galvin RBI double that scored Jake, who had just singled. Unfortunately for the Canes, that was the only highlight worth mentioning. The Irish showcased their power at the plate, scoring 10 uncontested runs, with the turning point occurring in the eighth inning when they erupted for five runs.
Offensively, it came from the top of the order in the names of Jake, Max, and Daniel, accounting for five of the seven hits. Jake and Daniel had multiple hits: Jake went 2-for-4 and Max went 2-for-3. Max, Daniel, and Tanner each recorded a double. Renzo, as earlier mentioned, was the lone contributor from the bottom of the order. If Miami wants to get past game one, they are going to have to resemble the team that took the field Friday night and not what we witnessed today. Miami is limping into Durham, and they better come out of their fog or else they could be looking at packing their bags by noon on the first day.
Pitching has become a pressing concern all season. At this time, we are relying on one dependable pitcher: AJ Ciscar, who has proven to be the most effective since joining the rotation. Griffin, on the other hand, has encountered some challenges, especially with his struggles to navigate the first inning and his tendency to let the lead-off batter reach base safely. Tate has also faced obstacles, as 4 out of 6 lead-off batters have managed to reach base against him. Meanwhile, Reese, our mid-week starter, showcased his inconsistency in today’s performance. Considering the current condition of our starters and bullpen, it’s uncertain how we will fare in advancing deep into the tournament. Fortunately, we have a reliable closer who is definitely an asset and will be ready when needed. He may be asked to work overtime if the situation requires it. Moving forward, if we can overcome California on Tuesday, our next test will be against Wake on Wednesday, also at 900AM. Should we progress to Thursday, we will face the top seed, which is likely to be Georgia Tech.
With the regular season now behind us, we transition to postseason action. As previously noted, we are set to kick things off on Tuesday morning at the early hour of 9AM. Given that this is a single-elimination format, I expect JD to stick to the regular rotation. Considering we could potentially play five games, the starters will need to pitch deep into their outings to preserve the bullpen. If we don’t return to the Tournament’s Tuesday starter, we might see a committee approach to pitching in the final game. While it’s hopeful thinking, we will soon discover what fortunes await us. I will be there to report bright and early on Tuesday morning.
