Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Hurricanes
Hunter Tackett, left, hits a grand slam as UM opens the ACC baseball tourney with a win.
The Hurricanes entered the ACC tournament in a position they haven’t been in very often.
A bubble team that struggled early in the year, Miami – one of college baseball’s traditional powerhouse programs – needs wins to try to bolster its resume ahead of Selection Monday if it is to extend its streak of 44 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
It wasn’t easy on Tuesday against Georgia Tech, but the Hurricanes got one of those necessary wins.
With two on in the bottom of the 13th inning, Miami’s Joe Gomez laced a single through the right side, scoring Edgar Michelangeli and lifting Miami to a 6-5 win over the Yellow Jackets in Louisville, Ky.
It’s the second time in four days the Hurricanes (30-26) have notched a dramatic late-inning win.
In the regular-season finale on Saturday against Virginia Tech, Michelangeli hit a walk-off three-run homer that lifted Miami to a 7-5 extra-inning win over the Hokies.
With those two victories, the Hurricanes have now won five straight and six of their last eight, playing some of their best baseball just when they’ve needed to most.
“Well, needless to say, it was a great win. I don’t remember the last time that at Miami we’ve gone through 13 innings,” Miami coach Jim Morris told reporters in Louisville. “So it was a long game. Great effort by both bullpens. Good defense and we’re fortunate enough to get one more hit right there…big hit by Joe.”
Reliever Andrew Cabezas pitched one of the best outings of his Miami career to help set things up for Gomez and Miami in the 13th.
The sophomore entered the game in the seventh, gave up a walk to the first batter he faced, then retired the next 17 batters. He pitched 6 1⁄3 scoreless innings and struck out 10 to improve his record to 5-3.
And while Miami struggled at the plate when it had runners on base, leaving seven on, the Hurricanes got several big hits, with Hunter Tackett hitting a grand slam in the third inning to give Miami a 5-4 lead after starter Evan McKendry struggled early against the Georgia Tech (27-27) lineup.
“He threw me three sliders in the count and I was kind of hoping he was going to try to sneak a fastball by me and I happened to guess right,” Tackett said in Louisville. “I knew when I hit it, it had a chance to get out.”
Tackett was one of five Hurricanes to notch multiple hits Tuesday along with Michael Burns, whose first-inning solo home run staked the Hurricanes to an early lead. Michelangeli, Johnny Ruiz, Chris Barr and Gomez also had two hits each.