Canes lose 8-5, BUT they will be hosting a regional round next week for the College World Series! We'll be calling the game on @WVUMSports
— WVUM Sports (@WVUMSports) May 27, 2012
Believe it or not, the University of Miami is going to host a regional again this year in Coral Gables at the Light. Stunned? I am a little, but not completely.
That used to be a guarantee, something that was the expectation around the Gables. Postseason baseball at San Amaro Drive was an annual right of Spring when the tournament is usually delayed by typical Florida summers and the water sells like alcohol at Moe's on Halloween.
It's just that in recent seasons it has been anything but a lock. By the Canes' lofty standards, they have kind of sucked. Two of the last three seasons have seen the Canes playing in a regional in Gainesville. The third season they were playing the Supers in Gainesville.
Since you can take it to the bank that Miami won't be a national seed, anybody want to guess which Super Regional the Canes will be paired up with? Although I sure as heck hope not, I'm getting awfully sick and tired of losing to UF every year.
But back to Miami hosting a regional here. Does this team deserve it? I mean you look at the numbers and yea, Miami's resume looks pretty good. The Canes have an RPI in the top 10 and a strong strength of schedule. Plus, they took all four games from North Carolina this season, a likely national seed. Those are some quality wins.
The run to the ACC title game this weekend definitely helped too. I expected that Miami needed to beat Georgia Tech in the final to get a host spot, but obviously it wasn't necessary.
Just forget about the numbers and look at this baseball team. Does Jim Morris' team really deserve to host a regional? Don't get me wrong, I'm super stoked they are, but do you think Miami is really one of the 16 best teams in the nation? I don't. Maybe they would be if they could catch and throw the ball accurately they'd seem much more legit. Seriously Stephen Perez, 23 errors from second base? Really, dude?
What the Canes need now is for a few days off to get Peter O'Brien back to where he was before injury. Miami seemed like a much more complete team with him. I mean duh, he's their best player. So his return in the ACC tournament, even if unimpressive, might have helped Miami get one of those regional spots, too. We've seen that from the NCAA bracket makers in basketball before, it's surely a consideration. The fact that Miami was a .500 team without O'Brien has to be considered.
Now let's just get a good draw. Four years without a College World Series appearance is just too long. Miami needs to get back to Omaha.
Here are the 16 host sites for the Regionals.