Miami Baseball Comes Inches Away From Return to Omaha, Ends Season In Louisville
LOUISVILLE, KY — The Miami Hurricanes' dreams of returning to Omaha get crushed. Battling to the end and losing a spectacular game to the Louisville Cardinals 3-2, ending their resilient season in the Super Regionals.
"I'm proud of our guys," Arteaga said postgame. "You know, we fought to the very, very end. That's all I can really ask for. So, hurts is it stinks to lose, you know, but I don't think we lost today, I think they just played a little bit better than we did."
Think of a boxing match when looking at this game. In the first two innings, both teams were feeling each other out. Some jabs with a few singles and hits given up, but nothing sustained. Starter Reese Lumpkin grounded out several Cardinals, while the Hurricanes had a few flyouts.
Through two innings, both teams struggled to make anything happen until the top of the third. An amazing surprise for UM this postseason has been freshman Michael Torres. He found confidence at bat singling to get himself on base. Then the Hurricanes dealt the first heavy blow of the game.
In the two games that Max Galvin has been great against the Cardinals, the wind has been blowing in his favor towards right field. When he saw the plate again, he rocketed a ball to that sweet spot to give the Canes a 2-0 lead.
MIAMI +2 ✅ pic.twitter.com/xIDV9tzwbi
— Miami Hurricanes Baseball (@CanesBaseball) June 8, 2025
Quickly, the Cardinals adjusted as they started to put more balls in the field, allowing them to score two runs in the fourth. A few straights landed against the Canes, making the game 2-2, or for everyone in Jim Patterson Park, 0-0.
The Cardinals rallied against the Canes with the bases loaded against Will Smith. Smith trusted his stuff and got out of his troubles to put up another zero on the board for the Canes.
In the following frame, the Canes were in the same situation. The bases were loaded with one out, and they couldn’t take advantage of the situation. Once again, a stalemate heading into the seventh.
These teams finished right next to each other in the ACC standings this season, and they were playing like it. Destined to be a tight-nit game that was bound to go down to the wire.
Pressure continued to mount for both teams, and someone had to crack. Unfortunately, it was the Canes. Torres has been all world defensively this season, but with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, he had a chance to make a play. Diving for the ball hit by Eddie King Jr, he closed his glove too early, and the game-winning run was brought in.
EDDIE KING JR!! Louisville takes the lead 👀#RoadToOmaha x 🎥 ESPN / @LouisvilleBSB pic.twitter.com/SWKxduES0T
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 8, 2025
"You know, I knew [King Jr.] didn't get it good," Smith emotionally said after the game. "I saw [Torres] back there. I'm screaming at him, at the top of my lungs, to come in, and I know he's running as fast as he can. He had a great effort on there, and that's just baseball sometimes, man. Sometimes you make those plays, sometimes you don't. That's why they're always on SportsCenter if he makes that play."
The Canes tried to rally with Daniel Cuvet's double in the eighth, but the trend today for UM was flyouts. It's also how their season ended. Jake Ogden, with the last at bat of the season, had a fly out, punching the Cardinals' ticket to Omaha and the Canes' ticket back to Coral Gables. The Hurricanes end their season better than they did last year, with a bright future ahead. The outcome was disappointing, but JD Arteaga is still proud of what this team turned into.
"We're a step closer," Arteaga said. "Not where we want to be, but just a step closer. And I'm satisfied that we were close, but we're not in this to just get close, you know, but we're closer today or yesterday, and definitely closer than what we were last year."
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.