Hurricanes Crush Columbia 21-3 To Advance To Super Regional
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CORAL GABLES (CBSMiami/AP) — The Miami Hurricanes wanted to bounce back from their only loss in the Coral Gables regional in a big way.
On Monday night they did just that.
Willie Abreu drove in five runs, including a massive three-run homer to right field, and Miami routed Columbia 21-3 to win the Coral Gables NCAA regional Monday night.
The top-seeded Hurricanes (47-15) advanced to a super regional for the first time since 2010 with a stunning reversal of their first shutout loss of the season Sunday, a 3-0 defeat to the third-seeded Lions (34-17) that forced Monday's deciding game. It was Miami's largest margin of victory.
Abreu, who was 3 for 4 and scored three runs, took a curtain call after his sixth-inning homer, which would have landed in the third level of UM's parking garage had it not clanged off the foul pole.
One night after managing two hits, the 'Canes piled up 20, including five during an eight-run fourth inning. Lions starter Mike Weisman lasted one inning, allowing four runs on four hits while hitting two batters.
Columbia, which won twice Sunday to become the first Ivy League team to win three games in one regional, used five pitchers in the first four innings Monday.
By the middle of the fifth, the Canes led 16-0 and all nine starters had at least one hit.
Chris Barr finished with three RBIs. Zack Collins, David Thompson, Garrett Kennedy and Brandon Lopez had two RBIs apiece.
The Hurricanes will face Virginia Commonwealth in the best-of-three super regional at Mark Light Field in Coral Gables.
VCU comes in as the 4-seed from the Dallas regional. They had to win four consecutive games in the Atlantic-10 tournament just to qualify for the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.
The super regional games will be played on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (if necessary) with each beginning at 12 p.m.
Miami is hoping to advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska for the first time since 2008.
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