In the wake of sweeping Virginia, Miami No. 2 in latest rankings

Miami, Florida – After sweeping aside Virginia, fans are witnessing the pinnacle of Miami Hurricanes baseball in 2022, sitting near the top of the rankings. Four of the six major publications ranked the Canes at No. 2 with the USA Today Coaches Poll checking them in at No. 3. The significance of this is tremendous. It seemed very likely the Hurricanes would at least replace the Cavaliers in the third slot. Given Arkansas’ struggles with the Gators this past weekend, UM benefitted in the best-case scenario. It firmly places them in the conversation of having home-field advantage all the way to Omaha.

Rolling into the second half of the season, Miami stands at 26-6 winning 13 in a row. They’re a perfect 5-for-5 when it comes to ACC conference play clinching every series so far. This includes taking two of three at then No. 15 Clemson and the sweep of then No. 13 North Carolina. Coach Gino DiMare has said that part of a team’s success is their performance during the midweek games. The U is 6-1 in this regard.

Here's where @CanesBaseball ranks within the major publications:

D1 Baseball – No. 2
Baseball America – No. 2
Perfect Game – No. 2
Collegiate Baseball – No. 2
USA Today – No. 3
NCBWA – TBD

This is huge. UM is well within the range of home-field advantage all the way to Omaha

— Gabriel Garcia (@Gabewritesports) April 11, 2022

A Young Core

Powered by a talented cadre of super sophomores, the Hurricanes have been efficiently executing both on the mound and at the plate. Carson Palmquist (6-1, 2.76 ERA) has made an excellent transition from being last year’s closer to the marquee Friday night ace. The southpaw leads the team in strikeouts with 64, that’s the second-most in the entire conference.

Jake Garland (5-1, 2.17 ERA) rebounded nicely vastly improving his numbers from 2021. Finishing 6-4 with a 5.69 ERA, he surrendered 10 home runs. In 2022, the righty has only given up one. Brandishing a 0.94 WHIP, Garland rates the fourth-best ERA in the ACC, slightly bested by his own teammate, freshman Karson Ligon (4-1, 2.16 ERA). Ligon struggled a bit on Saturday versus UVA but has spun effective outings facing Florida, Clemson, and UNC. Andrew Walters, meanwhile, continues to mow down opposing hitting becoming absolutely lights out. In 14 appearances and 18.2 innings pitched, the Palm Bay native is waltzing around with a perfect 0.00 ERA complemented by a razor-sharp 0.39 WHIP. Combine him with Gage Ziehl and they’re a potent 1-2 punch out of the bullpen.

Get out the brooms!! No. 8 Miami sweeps the weekend series against No. 3 Virginia. 🧹🧹🧹#NCAABaseball x 🎥 @CanesBaseball pic.twitter.com/WxLjTFUvV6

— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) April 11, 2022

Over on the offense they’ve got standouts like CJ Kayfus, Yohandy Morales, Jacob Burke, and Dominic Pitelli. Kayfus leads the team in batting average (.377) and cracks into the top 10 within the conference. Yoyo has a team-best 1.051 OPS and also leads in doubles (11) and homers (7). Burke has one of the best fielding percentages within the program (second to Kayfus) and is tied with the most RBIs on the team alongside Pitelli (33). Which reminds me, the shortstop is a strong candidate for comeback player of the year. During his freshman campaign, Pitelli slashed a meager .219/.289/.320. Now? It’s .317/.377/.512, already surpassing last year’s numbers across the board. The team is firing on all cylinders.

Moving Forward

Looking at the rest of the schedule, the Hurricanes have faced their toughest opposition until the season finale versus Notre Dame. With fan enthusiasm at its highest, the team needs to remain focused. That means refraining from playing down to the competition. Unless you’re the seemingly unstoppable Tennessee Volunteers, no team is immune from an upset. Harvard anybody? As one of the big boys at the top, UM has a target painted on its back. Teams like Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, and even Florida State are viewing us as we did with the Tigers and Tar Heels: A juicy chance to knock down a higher-ranked opponent.

How about @CanesBaseball?

🙌 Up to No. 2 in the country
🙌 Just swept No. 3 in the country
🙌 13-game winning streak
🙌 13 ACC wins (no one else has 10)

Mood at the U 👇 pic.twitter.com/Mgd5duhqW7

— Mike Monaco (@MikeMonaco_) April 11, 2022

So long as the boys stay healthy and remain dialed in, the UM faithful can dare to hope that this is the year the Canes finally make it to the promised land: Omaha. There’s plenty of college baseball left and anything can happen. The work remains unfinished.