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Miami Regional Thread


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4 hours ago, BillyGoatHill said:

We can bitch about who we missed in the portal, but no doubt, these 4 played HUGE for us this year and we don't have the year that we have had without them.

100% on point. 
Now, imagine this team with Skenes. Lord. It’s almost too glorious. 

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CORAL GABLES, Fla – The favorite fell … and the pain of that failure was etched onto the reddened faces of Miami Hurricanes players Yohandy “Yo-Yo” Morales and Andrew Walters, who spoke barely above a whisper during parts of Sunday’s postgame press conference.

 

The stars shined brightly … and that included Texas Longhorns starter/tournament MVP Lebarron Johnson Jr., who was heroic in his 129-pitch complete game on Saturday, and Miami third baseman Morales, who slugged four homers and drove in nine runs in four games.

And the team with the most trips to the College World Series – those Longhorns – went 3-0 and took a giant step closer to a third straight trip to Omaha.

Those were among the highlights of this weekend’s Coral Gables Regional that also featured the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns, who went 1-2 to finish third, and the Maine Black Bears (0-2). Miami went 2-2, finishing second.

Here are five takeaways from the regional:

1: UPSET HORNS: The Canes, who entered this regional with a 28-5 home record, were the obvious favorites to win this regional. That’s why they were the top seeds.

Texas entered with quality front-line pitching – Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Lucas Gordon and the aforementioned Johnson, who likely made himself some major MLB Draft money with his performance this weekend.

But the Longhorns also entered this regional with just a 10-12 record away from home. And they had gone 0-2 in the Big 12 postseason tournament.

Despite those home/road trends, the Longhorns prevailed, and they have now won 12 consecutive regional games — not that Texas coach David Pierce proclaims any great secret on how this has been accomplished.

“We haven’t figured out how to win a conference title,” said Pierce, still at least somewhat bothered by his team’s performance in the Big 12 tournament.

“(But), we prepare well. We try to stay consistent. We have been fortunate with health and really fortunate with good players who are very motivated.

“I don’t know (how we’ve won 12 straight regional games). But I’m not going to complain about it.”

2: NINE! NINE! NINE! With apologies to a famous line in the movie Inglorious Basterds, “nine” is how the Longhorns beat Miami 10-6 in Sunday’s final elimination game.

Texas scored nine times in the game’s pivotal third inning, a frame that included true freshman Jalin Flores’ grand slam.

“Going into that at-bat, my job was to advance the runners, get a run in, scratch for something,” said Flores, who served as the DH on Sunday, batting seventh. “I just wanted to pass the bat to the next guy in our lineup.

“But once I (hit the grand slam), my emotions were very high.”

Texas’ third inning also featured four singles, two doubles, three walks and one steal as the Longhorns got to starter Ronaldo Gallo (five runs) and reliever Carlos Lequerica (four runs).

“Ronnie was cruising along – seven up, seven down,” Miami coach Gino DiMare said of Gallo’s fine start to Sunday’s game.

“It’s tough. We’re just thin in the bullpen. Lequerica didn’t have his stuff. His changeup is his best pitch, and it didn’t have that sink to it like it normally does. A lot of his pitches were up.”

3: CRUSHED CANES: It was less than 10 days ago that Miami beat the No. 1 team in the nation, Wake Forest, to advance to the ACC championship game.

And it was just a couple of days ago that Miami defeated Maine to set itself up with a matchup against Texas in this regional.

Then – boom – it’s over.

“When it comes to an end, it comes to a sudden end,” DiMare said. “It’s abrupt. It’s quick. It’s fast. It’s hard. It’s tough. It’s disappointing.

“Our team overcame a lot. To do what we did (42-21, No. 9 national seed) with our pitching staff the way it was – it was absolutely amazing. For the most part, we had really one (effective) starter (Gage Ziehl) for the second half of the season.”

4: MIAMI MARVELS: In all likelihood, the college careers of Morales and Walters ended on Sunday. Both of them are set to get drafted next month, with Morales pegged as a New York Mets first-rounder, according to the mock draft released by MLB.com last week.

In Sunday’s seventh inning, Morales clubbed a three-run homer to cut Miami’s deficit to 10-6. It would’ve been cool had it been his final college at-bat. However, he struck out swinging in the ninth.

Still, he finished his college career with 49 homers, ranking him fourth on the Miami list. He also has 237 hits, putting him in 10th place.

In terms of single-season batting average, his .408 mark this year ranks seventh in Miami history.

Pierce, who also coaches third base for the Longhorns, said he got to talk to Morales a bit during some moments this weekend.

“(Morales) has a great swing, a great body and a great arm,” Pierce said. “He’s also a smart hitter.

“He’s going to be a great pro. He’s going to play in the big leagues for a long time.”

Morales was emotional following the game.

“It’s been the best three years of my life, to come here and grow as a player and as a person,” Morales said, “especially with this coaching staff and everything they have done for me.”

Walters, who earned an impressive three-inning, one-run and four-strikeout save in Miami’s 8-5 elimination-game win over Louisiana earlier Sunday, was also grateful.

“It was an amazing experience coming here to ‘The U’,” Walters said. “I can’t put it into words – it’s something that has to be experienced.

“(Miami) has made me a better man and a better athlete.”

Walters finished the season with 12 saves and a sterling 1.32 ERA. He posted 26 saves in his two-year run as Miami’s closer.

DiMare said the years “fly by” when coaching these impressive talents.

“These guys will be Hurricanes for life,” DiMare said. “(Playing college baseball) is the greatest experience of your life. Some of your closest friends will be your college teammates – not your professional teammates.

“Everything is so raw (following the season-ending loss). It’s hard to put into words.

“Yo-Yo is a good guy. When you have your best player not be a jerk and not be arrogant … He’s extremely confident, but he’s not cocky. Everyone loves him.

“(Walters) is different. He is quiet. He is extremely serious and focused. I loved coaching him because I loved the way he goes about his business.

“It’s tough because you build these relationships, and most likely I won’t be coaching them anymore.”

5: CLASSY CAJUNS: Louisiana (41-24) had a solid regional, losing to Texas 4-2, pounding Maine 19-10 and falling to Miami, 8-5.

The Ragin’ Cajuns led Texas 1-0 in the sixth, and Louisiana would have had at least four more runs had it not been for two noteworthy catches by Longhorns outfielders.

Louisiana never led Miami, but the Cajuns battled back to trail the Canes by one run three times: at 3-2, 5-4 and 6-5.

Three Cajuns hitters made the all-tournament team: shortstop Kyle DeBarge and outfielders Carson Roccaforte and Heath Hood.

Cajuns coach Matt Deggs, whose first non-COVID year with the team was in 2021, has now made two straight NCAA regional appearances.

“This will be a hard team to let go of,” said Deggs, whose team finished with the most wins by any Cajuns squad since 2016. “These players have changed my life and my family over the past two years.

“They have changed the trajectory of our program. I came into today with a heart of gratitude and thankfulness, and that’s how I’m going to leave.

“Our players never flinched. They never backed up. They just kept coming.”

 

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35 minutes ago, Valmy77 said:
  Hide contents

CORAL GABLES, Fla – The favorite fell … and the pain of that failure was etched onto the reddened faces of Miami Hurricanes players Yohandy “Yo-Yo” Morales and Andrew Walters, who spoke barely above a whisper during parts of Sunday’s postgame press conference.

 

The stars shined brightly … and that included Texas Longhorns starter/tournament MVP Lebarron Johnson Jr., who was heroic in his 129-pitch complete game on Saturday, and Miami third baseman Morales, who slugged four homers and drove in nine runs in four games.

And the team with the most trips to the College World Series – those Longhorns – went 3-0 and took a giant step closer to a third straight trip to Omaha.

Those were among the highlights of this weekend’s Coral Gables Regional that also featured the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns, who went 1-2 to finish third, and the Maine Black Bears (0-2). Miami went 2-2, finishing second.

Here are five takeaways from the regional:

1: UPSET HORNS: The Canes, who entered this regional with a 28-5 home record, were the obvious favorites to win this regional. That’s why they were the top seeds.

Texas entered with quality front-line pitching – Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Lucas Gordon and the aforementioned Johnson, who likely made himself some major MLB Draft money with his performance this weekend.

But the Longhorns also entered this regional with just a 10-12 record away from home. And they had gone 0-2 in the Big 12 postseason tournament.

Despite those home/road trends, the Longhorns prevailed, and they have now won 12 consecutive regional games — not that Texas coach David Pierce proclaims any great secret on how this has been accomplished.

“We haven’t figured out how to win a conference title,” said Pierce, still at least somewhat bothered by his team’s performance in the Big 12 tournament.

“(But), we prepare well. We try to stay consistent. We have been fortunate with health and really fortunate with good players who are very motivated.

“I don’t know (how we’ve won 12 straight regional games). But I’m not going to complain about it.”

2: NINE! NINE! NINE! With apologies to a famous line in the movie Inglorious Basterds, “nine” is how the Longhorns beat Miami 10-6 in Sunday’s final elimination game.

Texas scored nine times in the game’s pivotal third inning, a frame that included true freshman Jalin Flores’ grand slam.

“Going into that at-bat, my job was to advance the runners, get a run in, scratch for something,” said Flores, who served as the DH on Sunday, batting seventh. “I just wanted to pass the bat to the next guy in our lineup.

“But once I (hit the grand slam), my emotions were very high.”

Texas’ third inning also featured four singles, two doubles, three walks and one steal as the Longhorns got to starter Ronaldo Gallo (five runs) and reliever Carlos Lequerica (four runs).

“Ronnie was cruising along – seven up, seven down,” Miami coach Gino DiMare said of Gallo’s fine start to Sunday’s game.

“It’s tough. We’re just thin in the bullpen. Lequerica didn’t have his stuff. His changeup is his best pitch, and it didn’t have that sink to it like it normally does. A lot of his pitches were up.”

3: CRUSHED CANES: It was less than 10 days ago that Miami beat the No. 1 team in the nation, Wake Forest, to advance to the ACC championship game.

And it was just a couple of days ago that Miami defeated Maine to set itself up with a matchup against Texas in this regional.

Then – boom – it’s over.

“When it comes to an end, it comes to a sudden end,” DiMare said. “It’s abrupt. It’s quick. It’s fast. It’s hard. It’s tough. It’s disappointing.

“Our team overcame a lot. To do what we did (42-21, No. 9 national seed) with our pitching staff the way it was – it was absolutely amazing. For the most part, we had really one (effective) starter (Gage Ziehl) for the second half of the season.”

4: MIAMI MARVELS: In all likelihood, the college careers of Morales and Walters ended on Sunday. Both of them are set to get drafted next month, with Morales pegged as a New York Mets first-rounder, according to the mock draft released by MLB.com last week.

In Sunday’s seventh inning, Morales clubbed a three-run homer to cut Miami’s deficit to 10-6. It would’ve been cool had it been his final college at-bat. However, he struck out swinging in the ninth.

Still, he finished his college career with 49 homers, ranking him fourth on the Miami list. He also has 237 hits, putting him in 10th place.

In terms of single-season batting average, his .408 mark this year ranks seventh in Miami history.

Pierce, who also coaches third base for the Longhorns, said he got to talk to Morales a bit during some moments this weekend.

“(Morales) has a great swing, a great body and a great arm,” Pierce said. “He’s also a smart hitter.

“He’s going to be a great pro. He’s going to play in the big leagues for a long time.”

Morales was emotional following the game.

“It’s been the best three years of my life, to come here and grow as a player and as a person,” Morales said, “especially with this coaching staff and everything they have done for me.”

Walters, who earned an impressive three-inning, one-run and four-strikeout save in Miami’s 8-5 elimination-game win over Louisiana earlier Sunday, was also grateful.

“It was an amazing experience coming here to ‘The U’,” Walters said. “I can’t put it into words – it’s something that has to be experienced.

“(Miami) has made me a better man and a better athlete.”

Walters finished the season with 12 saves and a sterling 1.32 ERA. He posted 26 saves in his two-year run as Miami’s closer.

DiMare said the years “fly by” when coaching these impressive talents.

“These guys will be Hurricanes for life,” DiMare said. “(Playing college baseball) is the greatest experience of your life. Some of your closest friends will be your college teammates – not your professional teammates.

“Everything is so raw (following the season-ending loss). It’s hard to put into words.

“Yo-Yo is a good guy. When you have your best player not be a jerk and not be arrogant … He’s extremely confident, but he’s not cocky. Everyone loves him.

“(Walters) is different. He is quiet. He is extremely serious and focused. I loved coaching him because I loved the way he goes about his business.

“It’s tough because you build these relationships, and most likely I won’t be coaching them anymore.”

5: CLASSY CAJUNS: Louisiana (41-24) had a solid regional, losing to Texas 4-2, pounding Maine 19-10 and falling to Miami, 8-5.

The Ragin’ Cajuns led Texas 1-0 in the sixth, and Louisiana would have had at least four more runs had it not been for two noteworthy catches by Longhorns outfielders.

Louisiana never led Miami, but the Cajuns battled back to trail the Canes by one run three times: at 3-2, 5-4 and 6-5.

Three Cajuns hitters made the all-tournament team: shortstop Kyle DeBarge and outfielders Carson Roccaforte and Heath Hood.

Cajuns coach Matt Deggs, whose first non-COVID year with the team was in 2021, has now made two straight NCAA regional appearances.

“This will be a hard team to let go of,” said Deggs, whose team finished with the most wins by any Cajuns squad since 2016. “These players have changed my life and my family over the past two years.

“They have changed the trajectory of our program. I came into today with a heart of gratitude and thankfulness, and that’s how I’m going to leave.

“Our players never flinched. They never backed up. They just kept coming.”

 

So many words about Morales and yet none about his dumb eye black/face paint bullshit

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1 hour ago, Valmy77 said:

In Sunday’s seventh inning, Morales clubbed a three-run homer to cut Miami’s deficit to 10-6. It would’ve been cool had it been his final college at-bat. However, he struck out swinging in the ninth.

Schitts Creek Love GIF by CBC

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25 minutes ago, TrashMaster G said:

I am out of the country and not seeing any of this. Care to elaborate?

Lots of college baseball players nowadays have to have their eye black cover their cheek bones also. YoYo wore his this way. Lots of other players in the regionals are doing it this way too. I agree and think it looks dumb, but football players have been doing it for years.

As per the article that @Valmy77posted and as stated by his coach, I didn't see any cockiness from Morales. I watched him twice against us and their elimination game against Louisiana. The guy wasn't ever cocky or being a showboat, just went out and played the game without making it about him.

Edited by BillyGoatHill
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12 minutes ago, BillyGoatHill said:

Lots of college baseball players nowadays have to have their eye black cover their cheek bones also. YoYo wore his this way. Lots of other players in the regionals are doing it this way too. I agree and think it looks dumb, but football players have been doing it for years.

As per the article that @Valmy77posted and as stated by his coach, I didn't see any cockiness from Morales. I watched him twice against us and their elimination game against Louisiana. The guy wasn't ever cocky or being a showboat, just went out and played the game without making it about him.

Meh, you’re a ball player, not a Viking or whatever. It looks stupid 

 

IMG_4008.jpeg

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Do you think Texas sticks with Witt as the #3 starter? 

He's obviously talented and a good pitcher when fully healthy but I'm just not seeing the type stuff that's going to get us more than 2 or 3 innings. Those innings are probably going to be an adventure too. 

Assuming Hurley isn't used in relief I think he's probably the better option right now as the 3rd starter. Thoughts? 

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With his inability to locate the fastball right now it’s tough to find any spot for him. Starter might be the safest at the moment. Can’t risk bringing him in late in a tight game right now. At least as the starter we know we have at least three bullpen arms that are can work long innings (Stehle, Hurley, Morehouse) if he gets in trouble.

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7 minutes ago, Rickylovesweed said:

Do you think Texas sticks with Witt as the #3 starter? 

He's obviously talented and a good pitcher when fully healthy but I'm just not seeing the type stuff that's going to get us more than 2 or 3 innings. Those innings are probably going to be an adventure too. 

Assuming Hurley isn't used in relief I think he's probably the better option right now as the 3rd starter. Thoughts? 

 

2 minutes ago, hobbes2702 said:

With his inability to locate the fastball right now it’s tough to find any spot for him. Starter might be the safest at the moment. Can’t risk bringing him in late in a tight game right now. At least as the starter we know we have at least three bullpen arms that are can work long innings (Stehle, Hurley, Morehouse) if he gets in trouble.

I say go ahead and start him but with an extremely short leash. 

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8 minutes ago, hobbes2702 said:

Agreed. Yesterday the leash was much too long. If he’s that inconsistent with the fastball then he has to come out quick

Honestly yesterday's leash wasn't that long. It's just that shit went south really fast. 

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58 minutes ago, Rickylovesweed said:

As much as it pisses this board off you can see why Pierce has stuck with Morehouse. 

Mid 90s fastball with a nasty slider. When Morehouse has command he's a big weapon out of the pen. 

If Pierce listen to this board he would have no players left to use because they would all be relegated to permanent bench status after one fuck up

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31 minutes ago, NorthLoop said:

Honestly yesterday's leash wasn't that long. It's just that shit went south really fast. 

Exactly.  He threw three incredible curves to strike out Morales to end the 1st and his 2nd inning was an immediate shitshow.

 

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50 minutes ago, Rickylovesweed said:

Do you think Texas sticks with Witt as the #3 starter? 

He's obviously talented and a good pitcher when fully healthy but I'm just not seeing the type stuff that's going to get us more than 2 or 3 innings. Those innings are probably going to be an adventure too. 

Assuming Hurley isn't used in relief I think he's probably the better option right now as the 3rd starter. Thoughts? 

Won’t need a game 3 vs Aggy 

3 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

We aren't going to need a #3 starter.

Beat me by 3 min

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46 minutes ago, hobbes2702 said:

With his inability to locate the fastball right now it’s tough to find any spot for him. Starter might be the safest at the moment. Can’t risk bringing him in late in a tight game right now. At least as the starter we know we have at least three bullpen arms that are can work long innings (Stehle, Hurley, Morehouse) if he gets in trouble.

Witt's potential is too high and the rest of our bullpen too inconsistent to not leave him as the third starter. 

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I know we have loosened up the unwritten rules of baseball quite a bit, but was the Miami first hr too much with the watching and then airplane arms out gesture headed to first?  At least for a 2nd inning hr?

or is it all ok now and i just need to ignore it?

Edited by Pato del Muerto
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5 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

Exactly.  He threw three incredible curves to strike out Morales to end the 1st and his 2nd inning was an immediate shitshow.

 

He wasn’t locating the fastball even in the first. He was up on everything. His hook looked good the whole time though.

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2 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

I know we have loosened up the unwritten rules of baseball quite a bit, but was the Miami first hr too much with the watching and then airplane arms out gesture headed to first?

or is it all ok now and i just need to ignore it?

It didn't seem like maybe the team took that pretty personally shortly thereafter?

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2 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

I know we have loosened up the unwritten rules of baseball quite a bit, but was the Miami first hr too much with the watching and then airplane arms out gesture headed to first?  At least for a 2nd inning hr?

or is it all ok now and i just need to ignore it?

I have no issue with celebrating but I think there’s a difference between celebrating and showing up a pitcher. I thought yesterday was borderline 

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10 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

It didn't seem like maybe the team took that pretty personally shortly thereafter?

 

9 minutes ago, hobbes2702 said:

I have no issue with celebrating but I think there’s a difference between celebrating and showing up a pitcher. I thought yesterday was borderline 

The talking shit with LBJ after the early walk worked out well for them as did standing there and watching an early HR....

Like Augie used to say....Baseball is a cruel mistress.  

The ball doesn't lie, and things have a way of sorting themselves out. I've been watching UT Baseball for 49 years and the best thing about it has been the way that UT players having ALWAYS risen above the shit talking and showboating by letting their play dictate the outcome. 🤘

Edited by BillyGoatHill
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1 hour ago, BillyGoatHill said:

Lots of college baseball players nowadays have to have their eye black cover their cheek bones also. YoYo wore his this way. Lots of other players in the regionals are doing it this way too. I agree and think it looks dumb, but football players have been doing it for years.

As per the article that @Valmy77posted and as stated by his coach, I didn't see any cockiness from Morales. I watched him twice against us and their elimination game against Louisiana. The guy wasn't ever cocky or being a showboat, just went out and played the game without making it about him.

Probably tears rolling down thru the black under-eye.

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10 minutes ago, AUS-97HORN said:

Screen_Shot_2020-10-05_at_11.51.58_AM.jp

My favorite part was Jordan getting enraged the media dared to hype up the 1992 Finals as a match up between the great Clyde Drexler and the great Michael Jordan. Like "how DARE they compare me to a shitty player like Drexler!!!11" Come on Jordan, you know they were just trying to trick the viewing public into thinking that Finals was going to be anything but a buttkicking and give them a reason to tune in.

It is like when they tried to hype up the Super Bowl a few years earlier as being this showdown between John Elway and Joe Montana when everybody who knew anything knew that the Broncos had no chance.

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Small sample size, but Witt has been much better in his two starts at home vs his 3 road starts.

You have to keep putting him out there though. This team isn't going to reach where we want to go without him and it could all click again at literally any time. Agree with the above statements that it is much easier to absorb his bad outings as a starter vs bringing him out of the pen in a tight situation. 

Hurley has also been much better out of the pen. No need to get cute.

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2 hours ago, Rickylovesweed said:

As much as it pisses this board off you can see why Pierce has stuck with Morehouse. 

Mid 90s fastball with a nasty slider. When Morehouse has command he's a big weapon out of the pen. 

The only problem is

image.gif.9a0cc9d00c8bb8ba447d741cd71ac7d4.gif

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14 minutes ago, txhorns said:

Miami fans were so pissed at our celebration for a double.  They claimed it was us breaking the U in half.

We have a different celebration every season and that has been our double celebration all year.

Seems unlikely unless our team thinks us hitting a double against anybody is breaking Miami's U in half somehow.

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