‘Something every kid dreams of.’ Top 25 Canes, Gators ready for sold-out showdown at Miami
Miami Hurricanes transfer catcher Maxwell Romero of Miramar played for Vanderbilt in the second game of the 2021 College World Series championship series, smacking a home run with Vandy down to its final out.
Romero, hitting a team-leading .375, knows about heart-thumping, energy-inspiring moments, even if Mississippi State eventually won it all.
He also knows about the intensity of the Florida-Miami rivalry, which returns to Mark Light Field for a sold-out weekend series that begins 7 p.m. Friday — the No. 14 Gators (8-2) on a seven-game roll that includes a 17-0, 21-hit, six-homer annihilation of FAMU on Wednesday and 11-2 win over North Florida on Tuesday.
The No. 22 Canes (7-1) have not played since Sunday’s 10-0 win over Harvard.
“I was at Vandy in 2020 and saw on You Tube how packed it was and how exciting it seemed,’’ said third-year sophomore Romero of the then-No. 2 Gators sweeping the top-ranked Canes the last time UF was in Coral Gables — the first two games decided in extra innings. “This is the best fan base I’ve ever been in front of. We can be down by one or two runs and they’re still cheering — or up by 10 and they haven’t left.”
Two-and-a-half weeks after that 2020 series the season was canceled in early March because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year in February, UM lost 7-5 to the Gators in the series opener and won the next two, the second game in extra innings. The teams never met at the 2021 Gainesville NCAA Regional because both had been eliminated before an opportunity arose.
The Canes are 132-128-1 all time against Florida, but have struggled against the Gators for several years. The last time UM won a home series against UF was in 2014. Since the third game of that series, a UM loss, the Canes are 6-18 overall against the Gators, and 2-7 at the Light since 2016.
The Gators have been explosive this week on offense, scoring 53 runs the past four games, while allowing seven. They’re ranked third nationally with 114 hits and second nationally with 24 home runs.
The Canes are 20th nationally in home runs with 12. Their combined earned run average is 2.25 for 21st best in the nation, including struggling former starter Alejandro Rosario’s 10.00 ERA in two games.
Rosario has been removed from the starting rotation for this weekend, as DiMare announced Thursday afternoon that his rotation will be left-handed sophomore Carson Palmquist (2-0, 1.74) for Friday’s opener, right-handed freshman Karson Ligon (1-0, 2.25) at 7 p.m. Saturday and right-handed sophomore Jake Garland (2-0, 0.00) for the noon Sunday finale.
UF’s composite ERA is 2.30, ranked 23rd.
The Independent Florida Alligator reported Thursday morning that left-handed sophomore Hunter Barco (2-0. 0.75) will start against the Hurricanes on Friday, right-handed sophomore Brandon Sproat (1-1, 2.00) will start Saturday and left-handed sophomore Timmy Manning (0-0, 5.63) will start Sunday.
Best UM start since ‘13
This is the best season start for the Hurricanes since 2013, when they raced to a 10-0 record — then lost the next two games to Florida in Gainesville. And this is the first season since UM’s pandemic-shortened 2020 that more than 600 fans are allowed at Mark Light.
The stands will be rocking, including an overflow of media members who will sit among the crowd.
Miami coach Gino DiMare knows that a capacity crowd of at least 3,552 (reduced from about 4,700 after the right field bleachers were removed to construct baseball’s indoor facility) can only help the home team.
“Having the fans back has been unbelievable,’’ DiMare said. “You can feel it, and it means a lot more. The adrenaline.... It makes it so much better with the fans here. Usually they’re very intense games.”
DiMare has 15 players who returned from last year’s team and 18 newcomers who have never experienced. Romero, 20, who has four doubles, a home run and .667 slugging percentage, started one game for Vanderbilt against Florida last year. He went 1 for 2 with a two-run homer and 3 RBI.
“They’re a team with great talent,’’ Romero said. “They have a lot of energy and play hard. There’s obviously a little edge around this series because it’s a rival, but the biggest message around our team is don’t make it more than what it is because that’s when you put unnecessary pressure on yourself. It’s a baseball game.’’
Romero is friends with UF shortstop Josh Rivera, who is hitting .300. The two played together this past summer in the Cape Cod League.
“The first time I told him I’m transferring to UM he said, ‘Look, we’re brothers, but when when go and play you guys it ain’t gonna be the same.’’’
Jacob Burke
Another Hurricane who has never faced the Gators is outfielder Jacob Burke, a 6-1, 208-pound third-year sophomore who transferred this season from Southeastern Louisiana and is hitting .360 with two home runs.
Burke is from St. Francisville, a 20-minute drive from Baton Rouge, home of LSU. He grew up an LSU fan, and said Southeastern Louisiana’s biggest game of the season was against Sam Houston State — “a [Southland] conference rival.’’
“Probably around 800, 1000 fans would show up,’’ he said. “Not nearly as big as this Florida series. The atmosphere at Mark Light is something every kid dreams of.
“We know the stadium here has been sold out for weeks. This will be a really great test for our team. You can tell that having these past two weird years of not having fans has really gotten them excited to have baseball back. We’ve all really enjoyed our crowds.’’
DiMare said the Hurricanes did not purposely skip a mid-week game this year because of the Gators series. “When we do these schedules we do them so far back,’’ he said. “We had some teams pull out on us late. We tried to reschedule but jus weren’t able to get a game in.’’
The coach said he “can’t worry” about recent history. “I’m concerned about this year. This is the 2022 team and it has got to make its own identity. This would be a great weekend to do that.’’
▪ The games will be televised by ACC Network Extra on Friday and Saturday, and ACC Network on Sunday.
This story was originally published March 3, 2022 at 12:13 PM.
