South Florida 10, Miami 2: Hurricanes Pushed to Brink of NCAA Tournament Elimination

The Miami Hurricanes dropped to 1-1 at the NCAA Tournament and now face elimination on Sunday afternoon after a 10-2 loss to the South Florida Bulls on Saturday night. The Hurricanes would now have to win three consecutive games to advance from the Gainesville regional.

USF got out to an early lead in the bottom of the first. A single and two walks loaded the bases for the Bulls before a sac-fly scored the first run of the game. Miami managed to tie the game quickly when Tony Jenkins hit a two-out RBI-single that evened the score at one in the top of the second.

South Florida retook the lead with a five-run bottom of the fourth that was split by a rain delay. Three singles scored two runs for USF as rain began to fall in Gainesville. The rain turned into a downpour as Jake Smith was replaced by Andrew Walters, and before the umpires paused the game a two-run double that Tony Jenkins couldn’t see due to the weather made the score 5-1. The umpires paused the game right after the double, and Hurricanes Head Coach Gino DiMare was furious as the weather directly cost Miami two runs. After the game restarted another run scored on a wild pitch that made the score 6-1 before the Hurricanes could get out of the inning.

USF extended the lead in the bottom of the fifth. A single led off the inning before an error put two men on with nobody out for the Bulls. An RBI-single scored the first run of the inning, before another run scored during a double play. During the seventh and eighth innings USF extended their lead even further with an RBI-double during the seventh and a run-scoring groundout during the eighth.

Miami’s lone run after the rain delay came in the top of the seventh inning. The Hurricanes loaded the bases with just one out, giving themselves their best chance to get back into the game, but scored just one run on a Yohandy Morales sac-fly before the inning ended with a groundout.

The loss leaves the Hurricanes on the brink of elimination from the NCAA Tournament. Miami will face South Alabama, who scored 19 runs on Saturday afternoon to eliminate Florida, for a chance to make the regional final. The Hurricanes offense will need to be better for Miami to have a chance to advance in the tournament, but the Hurricanes have not scored more than three runs in a game since scoring six against Louisville on May 20.

Miami’s elimination game against South Alabama is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon. If the Hurricanes defeated South Alabama they would have to play a second game on Sunday night in the regional final against South Florida. The winner of the South Alabama vs Miami game will have to defeat USF twice to advance in the tournament.

Game Info

Winning Pitcher: Logan Lyle (5-1, 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K)

Losing Pitcher: Jake Smith (3-1, 3.1 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 4 K)

Save: None

Next Game

Elimination Game vs South Alabama

Date & Time: Sunday, June 6, 12:00 p.m.

Hurricanes Starter: TBD

South Alabama Starter: TBD

Radio: WVUM 90.5 FM

Television: TBD / ESPN3