The Miami Hurricanes were the hottest team in college baseball at the end of the 2014 regular season, going on a 27-3 run over the final 30 games.

But a roster that featured 17 MLB draft picks — including a first-round selection — and three MLB players, looked like it was destined for a disappointing year as it neared the halfway point in the schedule.

“We did not start off well,” team captain Javi Salas said. “We were at the 25-game mark and we were probably around .500, like 13 and 12. I think we played Virginia and we were really, really struggling. We had some tough series early in the year. We lost two of three at Georgia Tech and that was a big gut punch. We lost two of three to Florida State.”

Salas’ memory serves him well, as the Canes were just one game over .500 through 25 games and coming off back-to-back losses to Virginia that dropped Miami to 5-4 in conference play. The Hurricanes, who opened the season ranked No. 16, fell out of the rankings following their series loss to the Cavaliers.

With their season in free-fall, the Hurricanes could have easily continued with their inconsistency and finished the season in a disappointing fashion.

But Salas and fellow upperclassmen like outfielder Dale Carey and Tyler Palmer, as well as fellow pitchers Chris Diaz, Bryan Radziewski and Andy Suarez were not about to let their team quit. The leaders of the 2014 Canes called the team together after a disappointing trip to Georgia Tech and let everyone know that there was a lot left to play for.

“I think the moment we clicked was at Georgia Tech,” Salas said. “We didn’t really see the wins right away after that, but we had a doubleheader at Georgia Tech. We lost both games and lost the second game in an extra-innings walk-off to Georgia Tech. And I remember that meeting in right field, the coaches kind of walked away and it was just us. I remember guys like Tyler Palmer, me and some of the other older guys like Adam Sargent and Sam Abrams, we all just kind of looked around and we wanted to make sure that the young guys understood that this was a long season. We still had a lot of season left. We had over 35-40 games left and, obviously, we’re scuffling and we’re struggling now, but we felt like we always had it there. We just needed to figure out how to put it together.”

“I kind of felt like in the beginning of that season, we just weren’t bonding as a team,” freshman star Zack Collins said. “I think that meeting was the biggest thing that turned us around. We kind of were giving up on each other and guys were just kind of being selfish a little bit. And then after that meeting, we turned it around and were playing as a team and having fun and doing our thing. That was the biggest turnaround for us.”

Miami’s pitching staff was its strength entering the season and it was especially outstanding during the streak, combining for a 1.98 ERA over 127 innings pitched.

“It was one of those things where it was kind of a perfect blend of seniors and young guys,” Salas said. “Being part of the rotation with B-Rad, Chris with Andy, I always told the guys that I had the best seat in the house for the best rotation in college baseball. Friday, Saturday, Sunday, we could stack up against anybody and it was just so much fun to compete with those guys. We always had a healthy competition in the sense that we only wanted to do better than the guy in front of us. Chris on Friday was always like the barometer. He was by far and away our most consistent pitcher. Then Andy on Saturday and B-Rad on Sunday, we always felt like with those two guys we had a chance.”

“The back end of our bullpen was incredible that year, too,” Salas said. “Bryan Garcia, he came into his own and [Thomas] Woodrey and [Cooper] Hammond were incredible also. We knew our numbers, we knew that we were pitching well, but more importantly, I think we all enjoyed each other’s success.”

Miami’s bullpen was especially close-knit. Salas, who pitched in relief on the weekends, and fellow senior AJ Salcines provided leadership for the talented young pitchers in the pen and all of the relievers took pride in helping out their fellow pitchers.

“We had this ‘Bullpen Mafia’ thing where the bullpen guys really enjoyed coming in with runners on base,” Salas said. “The inherited runners was big thing for us that year, making sure that we took care of the people in front of us and cleaning up each other’s messes. That ‘Bullpen Mafia’ thing blew up. We got [former UM pitcher and MLB All-Star] Chris Perez involved and it was awesome. It was a really, really fun rallying cry for all of us.”

While the pitching was strong, Carey led the team with a .339 average and 14 runs scored during the streak. Collins, who began his UM career 0-for-17, was red-hot during the win streak, batting .327 with nine extra-base hits and 19 RBI.

“We were kind of struggling in the beginning, but during that 14-game win streak, it wasn’t all about you or all about your stats,” Collins said. “It was about the team and how could we continue to win games day in and day out. In the ACC, we played some tough teams and it seemed like whether we were down in the last three innings or late in the game, we knew that someone was going to come through and pick each other up and get the job done.”

CANES BEING CANES

Miami’s 2014 roster featured an abundance of talent under the tutelage of two-time national champion head coach Jim Morris. Known as “Three,” Morris maintained the standard of excellence established before him by legendary head coach Ron Fraser. But Morris trusted his players and, more importantly, his team leaders, to keep the squad focused, while also having fun.

“That was one of the years where ‘Three’ understood the leadership we had in the locker room,” Salas said. “He understood that there were veteran presences in there and he kind of let us police the situation and he trusted us. I think ‘Three’ trusted the older guys, he trusted that we were helping the younger guys develop. Personally, I love to see the young guys. I love to see Willie and [Jacob] Heyward and Zack and Bryan. That freshman class was so special. Not because of what they did on the field, but how they carried themselves off the field. There were never any problems in the locker room. We didn’t have to teach them how to act. They were very mature and they understood that they would have to play a big role in our senior success. The seniors relied on them and they relied on us.”

The Canes came together and started to have some fun on the field. With that, they found their stride and went on an unbelievable run.

“’Three’ let us take control of the bus and we had a lot of fun playing a lot of music,” Abreu said. “We were being ourselves. He really let us be who we wanted to be and have fun with it. It was a lot of fun. He was great. He never let us take the foot off the gas and when we slipped up a little bit, he made sure to put us back in our place. He let us be ourselves and he let us play our game and, obviously, it worked out.”

Part of the fun that year was the secret “Sweep Selfies.” Unbeknownst to Morris, the team would gather together and take the photo after winning all three games in a weekend series.

“Willie had this thing where we used to do this ‘Sweep Selfie’ in centerfield,” Salas said. “We would literally run out there with a GoPro once a game ended and take a selfie in centerfield and it’s hilarious because I still have all these photos on my phone. I look at them sometimes and I’m like, ‘This is like so crazy to think of that we were taking selfies in centerfield.’”

Then there is the story of the “Sweep Tees.” Miami director of baseball operations Robert “G.M.” McDaniel gives the players T-shirts after the team takes every game in a series. But the Canes swept so often in 2014 that the “Sweep Tees” stopped appearing.

“It was so much fun. I know I’ll never forget it. We’re taking sweep selfies and it felt like we were sweeping every weekend. At first we were getting sweep tees and then, all of a sudden, G.M. just stopped giving them to us because we were sweeping every weekend. We never lost. It was really crazy. We just got so used to winning and I think it just changed the culture so quickly.”