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South Alabama 7, Miami 2: Hurricanes Season Comes to an End at NCAA Tournament

Miami’s offense struggled again in a season ending loss.

By JohnReynolds
Credit: Miami Athletics

The Miami Hurricanes lost 7-2 to South Alabama on Sunday afternoon in an elimination game at the NCAA Tournament. The loss ended Miami’s season and gave the Hurricanes a final record of 33-21 for the 2021 season.

Both teams struggled offensively until the bottom of the third inning, when South Alabama got on the board. A solo home run gave South Alabama the lead before a double and a single added another run to USA’s tally for the inning. South Alabama then extended the lead even further, with a two-run home run that made the score 4-0 after three innings.

Miami hit two solo home runs, one in the fifth inning from Yohandy Morales and one in the sixth inning from Alex Toral, to get back into the game. The Hurricanes’ bullpen gave the offense every opportunity to take the lead, with four straight scoreless innings after the four-run third.

Unfortunately for Miami, a two home run inning for South Alabama put the game out of reach in the eighth inning. Miami closer Carson Palmquist, who had been dominant all season, allowed the home runs after throwing 23 pitches Sunday after working two innings Friday night.

The Hurricanes had seven hits and walked six times during the game but managed to score just two runs after leaving 11 men on base. Miami had left seven men on base through the first three innings, and the Hurricanes again couldn’t find a clutch hit when they needed it. The two run performance for the offense continued a seven-game stretch where Miami had not scored more than three runs in a game dating back to May 20.

With the loss Miami is eliminated from the NCAA Tournament and saw their season come to an end. The Hurricanes will now head into the offseason, and will wait to see who returns to Coral Gables after the MLB Draft that takes place from July 11 - July 13.

Game Info

Winning Pitcher: JoJo Booker (8-0, 5.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 4 K)

Losing Pitcher: Jake Garland (6-4, 3.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 1 K)

Save: Tyler Samaniego (7)