UM to open ACC tourney play Tuesday

CORAL GABLES — After finishing the regular season with a three-game series sweep of Virginia Tech and one of its most dramatic victories of the year, the Miami baseball team is heading to the ACC Tournament on a high note.

The Hurricanes, who enter the tournament still looking for wins to continue bolstering their NCAA Tournament resume, will open play in Louisville on Tuesday morning at 11 against No. 10 seed Georgia Tech.

After that, the Hurricanes — the sixth seed in the tournament — are set to complete pool play Thursday at 3 p.m. against thirdseeded Wake Forest.

This year’s ACC tournament will feature pool-play format leading to a fourteam, single elimination bracket that will eventually crown the tournament champion. The four pool winners are set to play Saturday with the winners advancing to Sunday’s championship game. Host Louisville enters the tournament as the No. 1 seed, while North Carolina has the No. 2 seed. Wake Forest, Virginia and Clemson round out the top five seeds.

The Hurricanes enter the tournament in a relatively unfamiliar position.

One of college baseball’s traditional powerhouse programs, Miami has earned a record 44 consecutive NCAA Tournament berths. But this season, that streak is in jeopardy with the Hurricanes widely considered a bubble team after struggling in the early part of the year.

But since March, the Hurricanes have been playing better baseball losing just one weekend series, a three-game set at Virginia last weekend.

Since, Miami (26-26) has won four in a row, capping their three-game series sweep of Virginia Tech with a dramatic 7-5 extra-innings win on Saturday. That victory helped push Miami’s RPI to 52, something that can help the Hurricanes clinch an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament.

That said, to be eligible for the tournament, teams need to have records above .500 and with one of Miami’s wins not counting toward its overall eligibility because it came against NAIA St. Thomas, the Hurricanes understand they need at least two victories in Louisville to keep their season rolling.

Winning the tournament outright will also extend their season, with the Hurricanes clinching the ACC’s automatic NCAA Tournament berth if they can manage that.

“It’s been a tough season. The toughest of my career,” Hurricanes coach Jim Morris said after Saturday’s win over Virginia Tech. “I can’t imagine anything better than going to Louisville and winning the tournament and going to the NCAA Tournament.

“Everybody’s questioning us, but I think a lot of people are seeing that we played good late and a lot of good things have happened late. … These guys have been battling together and getting big hits and playing good defense and doing things to hopefully convince the [selection] committee.”

The NCAA Tournament bracket is set to be announced May 29 with regional play set to begin June 2.

ALAN DIAZ/ASSOCIATED PRESS Miami head coach Jim Morris says this season has been the most difficult of his career.