University of Miami baseball hangs on for 5-3 win over Alabama in regional opener

Miami Hurricanes baseball coach J.D. Arteaga couldn’t contain a slight smile.

“There’s no doubt in my mind,” Arteaga said, “that the ball was staying in the park.”

Arteaga was right … but just barely.

The Hurricanes opened the four-team, double-elimination Hattiesburg regional with a dramatic 5-3 win over Alabama on Friday afternoon.

Miami center fielder Michael Torres ended the game with his back to the wall in right-center, having just enough room to catch Kade Snell’s would-be walk-off, three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth.

Instead of the homer, Miami closer Brian Walters picked up his ninth save of the season.

With two outs and none on in the bottom of the ninth, Walters engaged in an epic 13-pitch battle with Alabama’s Bryce Fowler, who produced nine foul balls. Fowler finally reached on a fielding error by usually-sure-handed first baseman Renzo Gonzalez.

Alabama’s Justin Lebron – who is from Miramar and played for Archbishop McCarthy – was up next, and this was when Arteaga started to feel a sense of dread.

“After the error, it seemed like everything was falling apart,” Arteaga said. “Then (Lebron) comes up – a kid from Miami that we missed out on. It seemed like it would go against us.”

Indeed, Lebron reached on a hit-by-pitch, and that set the stage for Snell, who swung at a 1-0 fastball on the game’s final play.

Snell’s 379-foot drive came up just short.

“I just knew that ball was out,” Alabama coach Rob Vaughn. “It just wasn’t.

“(Snell) was on time. He got it. I know that’s a deep part of the park (about 380 feet to the wall). But I thought Kade got enough of it. (Alabama pitcher Riley Quick) was bear-hugging me, picking me up off the ground. He thought Kade got enough of it, too.

“We just needed one more foot.”

Third-seeded Miami (32-24) advances to the winner’s bracket on Saturday night at 9 against fourth-seeded Columbia, which beat top-seeded Southern Miss on Friday.

Second-seeded Alabama will play on Saturday in an elimination game against Southern Miss at 3.

Miami’s biggest stars on Friday, included Daniel Cuvet, who hit a three-run homer in the first inning, doubled and scored in the third and made a key diving defensive play in the eighth.

The Hurricanes also got great pitching from freshman starter AJ Ciscar, who lasted a career-high-tying seven innings. He struck out eight and walked one, allowing three runs.

This story was originally published May 30, 2025 at 10:45 PM.