Hurricanes win national baseball title by topping Stanford in 2001
University of Miami baseball coach Jim Morris succeeded a legend but did not need long to become one himself.
On this day in 2001, Morris’ Hurricanes completed one of the most dominant stretches the college game has witnessed to earn the program’s second College World Series title in three seasons.
Miami’s 12-1 win over Stanford in the title game tied the CWS championship game for margin of victory and capped a 17-game win streak, giving Morris his second title in eight seasons in Coral Gables.
“The first one is sweet, but this is icing on the cake,” Morris said of the national titles.
The Hurricanes had experienced amazing success before Morris arrived in 1994 from Georgia Tech.
Ron Fraser, who was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006, won two CWS crowns (1982, 1985) during 30 seasons at Miami.
Morris needed little time to match Fraser’s title count due to some notable performances by several players in Omaha, Nebraska.
Outfielder Charlton Jimerson, who had lead-off home runs during wins against Tennessee and Southern Cal, was named the CWS Most Outstanding Player. Joining him on the all-tournament team were pitcher Tom Farmer, first baseman Kevin Brown and designated hitter Danny Matienzo, who set a UM CWS record with six RBI against Tennessee.
Brown totaled six home runs and 23 RBI during nine postseason games, including three homers and 10 RBI during the CWS. Farmer, who started the title game, did not lose for more than two months.
Jimerson was one of two former walk-ons to start in the title game and end his career with two national championship rings. The other was catcher Greg Lovelady, now the head coach at UCF.
Following the rout
of
Stanford,
Lovelady recalled how far the ‘Canes had come. Two months earlier, Miami was swept at Mark Light Stadium for the first time in program history, by national power Cal State-Fullerton.
After that, the Hurricanes rolled to a 28-3 mark.
“We wanted to show everybody we were for real,” Lovelady said.
Mission accomplished. The 2001 season remains the standard at a school with a proud tradition on the diamond.
Miami’s 53 wins were the most — a mark tied in 2008 — under Morris, who retired in 2018 after not winning another CWS title during five more trips to Omaha.