’Canes hope late wins will be enough

NCAA tourney streak remains in jeopardy

CORAL GABLES — At almost every turn Tuesday night, the Miami Hurricanes looked every bit a regional tournament baseball team.

Evan McKendry pitched a gem, striking out a career-high 10 hitters. Edgar Michelangeli had a well-timed double that cleared the bases and staked Miami to an early lead. Carl Chester added to that lead with a solo home run, and Miami’s defense made several key plays for McKendry and the bullpen.

Ultimately, the Hurricanes got a much-needed 5-1 win over Florida Gulf Coast, a win they hope will now give them momentum as they head into both a three-game regular-season finale against Virginia Tech starting Thursday and the ACC Tournament in Louisville next week.

“It helps us going into a big weekend, the last weekend of ACC play,” said McKendry, a former North Broward Prep standout who allowed just two hits and tied a career best with seven innings against the Eagles. “Hopefully we can play well this weekend and carry this into Thursday, Friday and Saturday.”

The Hurricanes, who enter the weekend with a 26-26 record, will need it.

For weeks, Miami has dealt with the harsh reality that its streak of 44 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances is in jeopardy. The Hurricanes have

played relatively well of late, losing just one series in the second half of the season. But their slow start has weighed them down, and without wins this weekend and in the ACC Tournament, there’s a good chance Miami will miss out on regional play.

That said, veteran Hurricanes coach Jim Morris — who led Miami to back-toback College World Series trips in 2015 and 2016 and national titles in 1999 and 2001 — doesn’t want his players to press.

“I don’t want to put the pressure on our guys and say we have to win every game, but I think every game is very important, I’ll put it that way,” Morris said after Tuesday’s win. “This weekend and in the ACC [Tournament] when we get there.”

After Tuesday’s win, the Hurricanes saw their RPI — an index that measures win percentage and strength of schedule and is used by the NCAA selection committee to determine at-large tournament berths — jump up six spots to No. 55.

Victories over Virginia Tech — which has an RPI of 99 — would help that number continue rising.

Miami also need wins against the Hokies (23-29) because for NCAA Tournament purposes, one of its victories — a 14-2 win over NAIA school St. Thomas — won’t count toward the final win total. Teams need to be above .500 to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

Still, Morris said he had no regrets about scheduling the Bobcats, a fellow South Florida team Miami has played regularly since 1985. After all, the Hurricanes have rarely found themselves in the situation they are in now, needing every win they can muster to move off the bubble and into the NCAA tournament.

“We’ve always done that. This is my 24th year and we’ve never been in this position. … on the bubble, like we are right now,” Morris said. “I never expected the St. Thomas to affect us the way it is, but it’s been a friendly rivalry. … Miami and St. Thomas have been playing long before I got here. Of course, I’d like to have another ‘W,’ no question about that. But if we want to get in the tournament, we’ve got to be able to win whatever it is, two out of three [this weekend] or win two or win three [in the ACC Tournament]. We’ve got to play well in the tournament. And I think our guys are playing good. … We’ve got a lot of guys that are doing their jobs offensively and taking a little bit of pressure off our pitching.”

While there is still much work to be done for the Hurricanes to earn an atlarge berth in the NCAA Tournament, there is another option – and it’s one Miami’s players and coaches have discussed.

If the Hurricanes win the ACC Tournament next week, they’ll earn the league’s automatic bid, and it hasn’t been unheard of for a team that struggled in the regular season to do that — and more.

Two years ago, Virginia limped into the ACC Tournament with a 15-15 conference record.

While the Cavaliers didn’t win the ACC title that season, they did enough to secure an NCAA Tournament berth. Eventually, they advanced to the College World Series and won the first title in program history.

It’s a reminder, Morris has told his team.

“I reminded them what Virginia did,” Morris said. “Baseball is a crazy game. Whoever gets hot can get it done.”