Podcast: Can Miami homer its way to the College World Series? A baseball tourney preview
The Heat and Panthers aren’t the only South Florida teams in the middle of exciting postseason runs: The Miami Hurricanes quest for a fifth national championship in baseball starts this weekend and this team has a chance to make a run.
Miami is the No. 9 overall seed in the NCAA tournament and goes into the postseason with one of the most prolific offenses in the country after belting 112 home runs this year and making it to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship Sunday.
After a little bit of a hiatus, the Eye on the U podcast is back, and David Wilson and Susan Miller Degnan, the Hurricanes beat writer for the Miami Herald, set the stage for the Coral Gables regional and examine Miami’s chances to get back to the College World Series for the first time since 2016.
The ACC tournament in Durham, North Carolina, last weekend gave a good rundown of what the strengths and weaknesses are for these Hurricanes. They rallied past Duke last Friday by hitting two eighth-inning home runs to tie the game and go undefeated in pool play, then blew out top-ranked Wake Forest by getting two more home runs from star third baseman Yohandy Morales on Saturday, only to fade late in the title game against Clemson when they ran out of a quality arms in their bullpen.
Their offense, as well as star pitcher Andrew Walters in the back of their bullpen, gives them a shot to beat anyone. Their shaky pitching depth, exacerbated by injuries, will provide challenges during a long regional weekend.
To wrap things up, Wilson and Degnan bounce around some football topics to catch up on what they missed during their few weeks off. Which new transfer is most exciting? Is it almost time to start worrying about Miami’s Class of 2024? They hit on those questions and more before wrapping things up.
As always, thanks for listening and please continue to rate, review and subscribe on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
