Miami Falls in Starkville Regional Final, 5-2
STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Miami Hurricanes fell just short of forcing a winner-take-all final in the Starkville Regional, falling to No. 6 Mississippi State 5-2 on Sunday night.
After dropping their regional opener, Miami (41-20) came out of the losers’ bracket to earn a place in Sunday’s regional final. The Hurricanes battled against the nationally-seeded Bulldogs (49-13), but could not come away with a victory that would have extended the regional one more night.
“I am very proud and I love my guys,” head coach Gino DiMare said. “I am the luckiest guy in the world because I get to coach at the University of Miami, which is where I grew up born and raised. I played there and graduated from there. I get to be the head coach to the best program in the country, and I get to coach these guys. I’m very, very lucky. I love my players, and I told them I am very proud of them.”
Despite Sunday’s result, the Hurricanes had an impressive first season under DiMare’s tutelage. Miami won 41 games and returned to the NCAA postseason for the first time since 2016.
Raymond Gil got Miami’s first hit of the night and it was a big one, crushing a solo homer deep to centerfield off MSU starter Peyton Plumlee that gave Miami a 1-0 lead in the second inning.
Miami starter Slade Cecconi threw three perfect innings to open his first NCAA postseason start, racking up five strikeouts in the process. But Mississippi State got a rally going in the fourth, with leadoff man Jake Mangum opening the inning with an infield dribbler for a base hit that snapped an 0-for-18 stretch and Jordan Westburg doubling to the right field corner to give MSU runners on second and third with no outs.
The Bulldogs tied the game on an infield hit by Tanner Allen, as the first baseman hit a nubber just past the pitcher’s mound for an RBI single that sent home Mangum to even the score at 1. Two batters later, Justin Foscue hit a towering sacrifice fly to center that allowed Westburg to tag up from third and put Mississippi State ahead, 2-1. The Bulldogs added a third run in the inning on an RBI single up the middle by Dustin Skelton that allowed Allen to score from second and give MSU a two-run advantage.
Cecconi did not let the three-run fourth faze him, putting up three more zeroes to finish the night allowing three runs on six hits over seven innings. The freshman struck out six and walked just one MSU batter in his first career postseason start.
“The future is certainly bright with all of our young guys,” DiMare said. “We had five freshmen playing today, one on the mound who threw an unbelievable game.” We had four in the lineup and the rest of them are sophomore. I do not know many teams that have all freshmen and sophomores and are playing with no seniors. To say I am proud of my guys would be a huge understatement.”
Plumlee also settled in after Gil’s homer, allowing just four more hits over five-plus innings of work. Miami knocked the senior right-hander out of the game in the bottom of the sixth, as Gabe Rivera and Jordan Lala had consecutive hits to start the inning and put runners at the corners with no outs before MSU head coach Chris Lemonis called for lefty specialist Trysten Barlow to face the left-handed hitting Anthony Vilar.
Barlow walked Vilar to load the bases with Hurricanes before getting Freddy Zamora to ground into a big double play. Rivera scored from third, but the two outs were crucial, as Barlow got Adrian Del Castillo to fly out to left field and keep the Bulldogs ahead by a run, 3-2.
Gil led off the seventh with a base hit to left off reliever Colby White, but the right-handed fireballer pumped 95 miles-per-hour past JP Gates and Alex Toral before getting Michael Amditis to fly out after an 11-pitch at-bat to end the inning with Mississippi State on top by a run.
“This season was definitely a step in the right direction,” Gil said. “We are going to remember this feeling and be back next year better. Hopefully, we will do the things we are supposed to do to be able to host and not feel this way again next year.”
Sophomore Daniel Federman took the mound for Miami in the eighth and Mississippi State’s bats mounted a rally. Nine-hole hitter Marshall Gilbert worked a walk to open the inning and Mangum doubled to center for his third hit of the night, giving the Bulldogs runners on second and third with no outs. One pitch later, Westburg hit a two-run single to center that gave MSU a three-run cushion and ended Federman’s night without recording an out.
Junior closer Gregory Veliz relieved Federman on the mound and got three quick outs to slow the Bulldogs’ momentum. But Miami quickly loaded the bases against reliever Jared Liebelt in the bottom of the eighth. The senior right-hander got Del Castillo to hit into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play that squashed a potential Miami rally and maintained the three-run lead.
“You have to give credit to Mississippi State,” DiMare said. “They brought in some guys that did a good job of keeping the ball down. We hit a lot of balls into the ground at the worst times. With the bases loaded, we hit into a couple of double plays. I think we only scored one run and had the bases loaded twice.”
After a scoreless top of the ninth, Gil reached base on a fielding error by Foscue to give Miami a spark. But Mississippi State closer Cole Gordon retired the next three hitters to clinch the Starkville Regional for the Bulldogs.
“I think it was a great learning experience and a great growing up experience playing in this environment,” DiMare said. “The fans here, by the way, are awesome. Mississippi State fans are first-class people. They cheer for their team, and I did not hear anything derogatory. As a matter of fact, some of our players came to the game last night, and they were very friendly to our guys. I would just like to say thank you to the fans of Mississippi State.”
Five Hurricanes were named to the all-regional team: Toral, Gil, Del Castillo, Gates and pitcher Brian Van Belle.
