Miami baseball falls to Ole Miss, forced to play late Sunday do-or-die elimination game
Miami Hurricanes ace Carson Palmquist delivered a big-time performance against the Ole Miss Rebels on Sunday in the NCAA Coral Gables Regional.
His hitters? Not so much.
In a classic pitchers’ duel, Ole Miss defeated the University of Miami 2-1, putting the Hurricanes one loss from ending their season on their home field. The No. 6 national seed Canes (40-19) were scheduled for a do-or-die elimination game against No. 2 seed Arizona (38-24) late Sunday, immediately following UM’s loss to the No. 3 regional seed Rebels (34-22).
If UM should lose late Sunday, its season would be over.
“It was a hell of a baseball game,’’ Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. “It’s a shame somebody had to lose it. Both teams played really, really well. ...We knew we’d have our hands full with their lefty. We just happened to put an inning together. Our three stars came to the plate and had really good at-bats.”
Ole Miss advanced to a 1 p.m. Monday game, when the Rebels will meet the winner of Sunday’s late Canes-Arizona game. Should the Rebels win that game, they’d take the regional title and advance to a super regional next weekend. Should they play Miami and lose, they’d play Miami again in the title game Monday 55 minutes after the first game ends.
Palmquist (9-4, 2.72), a junior, allowed no runs and only two hits in his 5.1 innings. He walked four, threw a wild pitch and struck out 10 for 118 on the season, the most by a Hurricane since Cesar Carillo (127) in 2005. He threw 93 pitches and left possibly his last game at Mark Light Stadium with a 2.89 ERA.
UM reliever Alex McFarlane (3-2, 4.15), who replaced Palmquist with one out in the bottom of the sixth, got the loss. McFarlane allowed both runs on three hits and two walks in his 2 2/3 innings. He struck out four.
Down 1-0, the Rebels, who finished with five hits, got their winning runs in the seventh. With two outs, Justin Beach singled to left, Jacob Gonzalez singled to right and Tim Elko doubled to bring home both runners for the eventual victory.
An emotional Elko repeatedly pounded his chest while standing on second, eliciting a wild, gleeful response from his teammates, who stood and cheered in front of their dugout.
“For moments like that, that’s what you play for,’’ Elko said. “Just to see your teammates getting fired up with you, that’s what makes playing this game so fun. I was feeling a lot of different emotions. It really makes you feel good when you help your team win.’’
Right-handed Mississippi freshman reliever Mason Nichols (3.51 ERA) earned the first victory of his career. He allowed no hits, no walks and most importantly no runs in 2 1/3 innings. He struck out three.
Brandon Johnson earned his 11th save, allowing one hit in his 1 2/3 innings. Ole Miss starter Hunter Elliott allowed UM’s other three hits, as well as Jacob Burke’s sacrifice fly in the sixth to give the Canes a 1-0 lead.
Palmquist was taken out of the game by UM coach Gino DiMare after he gave up his second hit to Gonzalez, walked Elko, advanced them both on a wild pitch and struck out Kevin Graham.
Neither DiMare nor the Hurricanes players were available to the media after the loss because they were playing again soon afterward.
The weekend’s double-elimination event is one of 16 four-team regionals around the nation, with each winner advancing to eight super regionals June 10-13. The eight super regional winners earn berths in the College World Series that begins June 17 in Omaha, Nebraska.
Miami won national titles in 1982, 1985, 1999 and 2001, but whether they continue their quest for a fifth will be known by Monday morning.
This story was originally published June 5, 2022 at 6:57 PM.
